Mirtul 4th, 1481 DR

As dawn spreads, the rutted track emerges from a wooded hillside and the party catches their first full view of Phandalin. The town consists of forty or fifty simple log buildings, some built on old fieldstone foundations. More old ruins - crumbling stone walls covered in ivy and briars - surround the newer houses and shops, showing how this must have been a much larger town in centuries past. Most of the newer buildings are set on the sides of the cart track, which widens into a muddy main street of sorts as it climbs toward a ruined manor house on a hillside at the east side of town.

As the party approaches they see children already up and about, playing on the town green, and other early-rising townsfolk tending to chores or running errands at shops. Many people look up as the wagon passes by, but all return to their business quickly.

Sildar seems much more at ease.

"My friends," he says, "let us secure lodgings. I'm told the local inn is very quaint."

"Sure thing," Rudo retorts. "Just as soon as we stop by Barthen's Provisions to collect our pay."

Willow shakes her head in disgust. "Greedy bastard," she mutters.

Steamknuckle rubs the sleep from his eyes. "But what about Gundren?" he asks. "Shouldn't we head straight to the town hall to start organizing his rescue?"

"We have a little time to attend to our own needs first. The townmaster here, Harbin Wester, is probably just now waking up. We should give him a moment to compose himself before knocking down his door with our demands.

"Besides, it's been a long and tiresome journey. We're no good to Gundren in our current condition. The wisest course of action would be to first settle in at the inn and take a moment to refresh and re-equip ourselves.

"As you can see," Sildar says, sweeping a hand across his unarmored body, "at present my own gear is barely sufficient to handle a single goblin, let alone an entire castle full of them."

Zhaquadan follows Sildar to the local inn to secure lodging and ask around for the Gundren brothers and to see if any wizard types have been spotted in the area.
This message was last edited by the player at 13:29, Tue 05 Apr 2016.

The wagon rolls past a couple of outlying farm cottages before reaching the crumbling curtain wall of Phandalin proper. The wall is ancient and overgrown with vegetation, an apparent relic of the original settlement having fallen into disrepair centuries ago. The road passes through it and onto a wide dirt lane flanked by the larger and more well-kept buildings of the town.

As the party enters the village, the first building they see on their left is a large, red-roofed log structure. The crude painted sign hanging outside reads "Barthen's Provisions."

Stumpy pulls up on the reins and the wagon rolls to a stop. He looks back at the party with a cold, grizzled stare.

"And this here is our stop. Goods delivered to one Barthen of Phandalin, intact and on time. My apologies if you were hoping for a ride to the inn, but this wagon goes no further until these goods are unloaded and the job is done."

"Of course. We're here on a job, let's get it done and collect our pay."

"Yes," Sildar says. "I suppose we ought to take care of business first. Besides, Gundren worked closely with Barthen to outfit his mining operation here in town. He deserves to know what's happened, and might be able to help us find the other Rockseekers as well."

Willow dismounts from Burgess as the rest of the group climbs down off the wagon, dusting themselves off before entering the building. As they approach the entrance, a lean, balding man of about fifty emerges to greet them, flanked by two young assistants.

"Greetings, friends." The shopkeeper smiles warmly. "I am Elmar Barthen, and this is my humble trading post. You must be the agents of Gundren Rockseeker. And that," he glances past them at the parked wagon, "must be the load of goods he ordered to supply his new mining claim."

After a moment, though, his smile fades a bit. "But...Gundren himself, he was supposed to arrive in town two or three days ago. How is it that his supplies have made it here before him?"

Before the party can respond, his gaze flickers back to the wagon and his smile disappears entirely. "Are those Lionshield crates I see there?" He gives the group a confused expression. "What's going on? Perhaps this isn't my shipment after all." He points to the south. "The Lionshield Coster is down the road a bit, on the far side of the town square."

He looks down at the ground, trailing off a bit and muttering to himself. "But...if you aren't Gundren's men, then where are they? And where is he? Must be delayed, somehow..."
This message was last edited by the player at 16:56, Thu 07 Apr 2016.

"No, you were correct, this is Gundren's shipment," Willow says quickly. "The Lionshield crates were recovered from bandits who waylaid them on the Triboar Trail. We'll have to separate them from your parcels, but that shouldn't be hard since they're all clearly marked."

"There's just one chest in there that's ours, though. Be sure to set that one aside for us."

Willow throws a brief glare at Rudo before turning back to Barthen. "We apologize for the delay in delivery. The bandit issue took the better part of a day out of our schedule. But since we allowed more time than necessary and made good time elsewhere, I believe we're still on time. And the goods are all intact, as you'll see."

Barthen's smile returns. "I see. Very good! Bandits, you say. Well done indeed!" He gestures to his two young employees, and they move forward to begin separating the cargo and unloading the proper parcels.

A shrewd look appears on Barthen's face. "These bandits...they wouldn't happen to have been wearing red cloaks, were they?"

Sildar replies, "No, they were goblins, affiliated with the Cragmaw clan of Neverwinter Wood. We dealt with them in the proper manner."

He steps forward to shake Barthen's hand. "Please forgive me. I haven't properly introduced myself. I am Sildar Hallwinter, of Neverwinter, formerly of Waterdeep. And these are my companions, the associates of Gundren Rockseeker hired to protect your shipment. They are:" Sildar points to each party member in turn as he names them. "Willow, Rudo, Steamknuckle, Zhaquadan, and Stumpy, the wagon driver."

He looks Barthen squarely in the eye. "Speaking of goblins, we've also got some bad news about Gundren Rockseeker."
This message was last edited by the player at 19:31, Thu 07 Apr 2016.

"No...killed by goblins?"

"Hopefully not yet. But he was captured, and taken to their castle somewhere north of here in the forest. I know because I was ambushed with him. I was his traveling companion, headed here to Phandalin on my own business. We were overrun by the goblins and taken prisoner. Gundren was sent on to the castle, but they kept me in their cave, tormenting me for a full day before these brave folk you see here arrived to rescue me. And thank Torm they chose to depart from their duty to do so, elsewise I would be dead now."
This message was last edited by the player at 20:42, Thu 07 Apr 2016.

Barthen simply stares at Sildar for a moment, absorbing everything. "Sad news indeed," he manages at last. He looks down, shaking his head. "He's a good dwarf, Gundren, and this new claim he's made...it's gotten a lot of people around here very excited. Blasted goblins. To lose it all now, because of some filthy monsters preying on travelers for scraps."

He looks back up at Sildar. "But he may still be alive, right? This castle...goblins, living in a castle? Never heard of such a thing. Do you know where it is?"
This message was last edited by the player at 20:38, Thu 07 Apr 2016.

Sildar sighs. "Not exactly. We were told by a goblin, right before we killed it, that the castle lies about twenty miles northeast of their cave where I was held. I figure that should be roughly north of where we are now, somewhere around the edge of Neverwinter Wood.

"Of course, that's a large area, and not easy to search due to the thick forest. So we don't really know exactly where it is. Just a rough area. We were hoping to tap Harbin Wester for aid in organizing a force to find the castle and rescue Gundren."

Barthen lets out a small, nervous laugh. "Wester? That fat fool? Good luck. He has no real power here. He's too busy ignoring the Redbrands while they push us decent folk around and rob us blind. He won't help. Couldn't anyway, even if he wanted to. It's not like we've got any kind of town guard, or warriors of any kind here. You'd be better off paying the Redbrands themselves to help you, and they'd just turn around and cut your throat as soon as you paid them."
This message was last edited by the player at 05:04, Thu 04 Aug 2016.

Sildar's expression grows very stern. "Who are these Redbrands?"

"Come inside," Barthen says. "Let's talk more privately." He quickly scans the street before turning and entering the trading post, with the party following behind him. They enter a large storeroom lit by early morning sunlight filtering down from high windows, illuminating rows of wooden shelves containing a variety of general goods.

Barthen stops near the front counter and turns back to Sildar. "Thieves and murderers, is who they are. They showed up about two months ago and took over the Sleeping Giant tavern, at the end of the east road just before the path up to the old manor house. No idea where they came from, or why. A bunch of drunken hooligans wearing red cloaks. All they do is cause trouble, harassing people, stealing, bullying, and who's to stop them? We have no guard, no militia, we're just a quiet mining town looking for a little peace. The townmaster is supposed to handle these kinds of problems, but he's just one man, and a coward at that."

He shakes his head sadly. "And now you say there are goblins, living in a castle, attacking travelers on the road? It's only a matter of time before they find us here and raid the town. What will we do?"

"Do not fear," Sildar replies. "I am here on behalf of Neverwinter and the Lords' Alliance. I cannot singlehandedly protect your town, but I will establish order here, and raise a militia from the local populace if need be.

"However, it seems that my first order of business is to have a word with Wester about these Redbrands. If he will not stand up to them, then I will relieve him of his duties and assume his position myself. Thank you for telling me about this, Elmar. Your town will suffer no longer.

"I do have one more favor to ask of you, though. As I was relieved of all my possessions by the goblins, I have no money with which to establish myself here in town. So I have no choice but to request a small loan from you. My companions here can vouch for my good nature, and attest to the fact that I was indeed traveling with Gundren when he was captured. If you will give me your trust as to my affiliation with the Lords' Alliance, then you will be assured that my masters in Neverwinter have more than enough resources to cover your loan at a generous rate of interest."

"I believe you," Barthen says without hesitation. "How much do you need?"

"I'd say three hundred gold pieces, to get started. I owe my friends here some money, and may need a good amount more to spread around to establish security here in town."

"That shouldn't be a problem. Shall we say five percent, two month term?"

Sildar nods. "Quite fine. And, if you wouldn't mind holding on to that money for me, I would appreciate it. It wouldn't do to carry such a large sum around town in my purse with such undesirables lurking about. I'll stop by for a withdrawal whenever I need to."

"Speaking of money," Rudo interjects, "there's also the matter of our pay?"

"Of course, of course, please forgive me." Barthen hurries off into a back room and returns a few moments later, carrying a large leather pouch. He drops the pouch heavily onto the counter, then opens it and begins counting out stacks of gold coins. Soon there are six gleaming stacks resting before the party. "Ten gold each, for a job well done. Thank you, friends."

Rudo reaches out and scoops up his stack first, smiling broadly. Then Zhaquadan, Steamknuckle, Willow and Stumpy each step forward to claim their wages.

Barthen turns to Sildar. "And you, my friend? You were also involved in the wagon guard, were you not? Fair wages for honest work."

"No, but thank you. I was traveling ahead with Gundren, and wasn't involved in the wagon detail. It wouldn't be right to accept pay for a job that was actually done by the ones who saved my life. They deserve every copper."

Nodding, Barthen sweeps the remaining stack of gold coins back into the pouch, ties it up, and begins carrying it back out of the room.
This message was last edited by the player at 20:59, Thu 07 Apr 2016.

"Just a moment," Rudo interjects again. "While you've got Sildar's bankroll there, perhaps we could settle his other debts as well?"

"Of course, of course," Sildar replies, waving off another of Willow's impending grumbles at Rudo. "What was the deal? Five gold for escorting me to Phandalin, and..."

"...eight more for wiping out the goblins and the bugbear," Rudo finishes.

He smiles at Barthen. "Really, the townmaster here ought to pay us extra for that one, considering the public service we did for this town."

Sildar's patience with Rudo seems to be wearing a bit thin. "I think my payment for that service will be quite sufficient, indeed." He nods to Barthen, glancing at the coin purse.

"My four friends here, aside from Stumpy, were involved in the actual rescue," he explains. "So each of them should receive the full 13 gold. Stumpy himself was kind enough to grant me passage on his wagon, so he should also receive his fair payment of five gold for the escort."

Stumpy seems a bit surprised and taken aback by the unexpected reward for his contribution. He says nothing, but gives Sildar a small nod of thanks.
This message was last edited by the player at 21:02, Mon 08 Aug 2016.

Barthen happily counts out five more stacks of gold coins, pushing each toward its intended recipient. The party members accept their payments with muttered words of thanks. As he doles out the coins, the shopkeeper tallies, "13 gold times four parties, plus five gold for good Stumpy, comes out to 57 gold in total, reducing your remaining balance to 243." Sildar nods.

Barthen ties up the pouch, hefts it from the counter, and carries it back out of the room. A moment later he returns to the counter. "So. Welcome to Phandalin, my friends. I wish that we could be meeting under happier circumstances. But now that you're here in my shop, how can I serve you?"
This message was last edited by the player at 21:04, Mon 08 Aug 2016.

"I would like some rations please.   Something preserved that can last me about 5 days or so. "

"Not a problem. Trail rations run half a gold per day. I got whatever you need. Anything else?"

OOC: Barthen's Provisions stocks basic supplies and adventuring gear. Anything costing 25 gp or less from the table on p.150 of the PHB can be purchased here.

Zhaquadan selects 5 days worth of trail rations and puts 3 gold on the counter saying "Thank you my friend.   You can keep the change.   By the way when was the last time you saw any of the Rockseeker brothers?  Have you seen any wizard types come through here lately,  suspicious characters of any sort? "

Barthen gives Zhaquadan a shrewd look as he collects the gold from the counter. "Funny you should ask that. There was this one wizard type, don't recall his name exactly, Albert something or other...stopped into town on Lords' Alliance business, yes..." He glances briefly at Sildar before continuing. "And that was about a couple of months ago. Only saw him the one time, then I guess he must have left town. Haven't seen him since..."

Barthen trails off as a thoughtful frown clouds his face. "Odd, that couldn't have been more than a few days before those bloody Redbrands showed up in town." He looks back up at Zhaquadan. "Never did see that fellow again. But then there's their leader, the one they call 'Glasstaff'. Some kind of wizard, that one too. None of us have ever seen him, but the bandits themselves talk about him all the time, like he's some sort of boogeyman hiding up there in the manor house, and they might let him loose on us any time we refuse to bend over for their blasted shakedowns." He grimaces in anger.

"But then you asked about the Rockseekers too, right? Yes, Gundren's brothers, Nundro and Tharden, haven't seen them in a tenday, but they should be due back here any day now for a resupply. Especially when their brother doesn't show up on schedule. Poor blokes, who knows how they'll take the news of their brother being captured by goblins?

"Not sure exactly where they are now, but then of course they'd keep the mine site a secret. If the Redbrands ever found out about that claim, then those dwarves would be as good as dead."

Barthen turns around and begins rummaging through the shelves behind the counter for Zhaquadan's trail rations.
This message was last edited by the player at 19:53, Tue 12 July 2016.

Sildar replies as Barthen returns with a small parcel of rations for Zhaquadan. "Albrek. Iarno Albrek is his name."

Barthen looks puzzled for a moment. "Indeed. So you know him?"

A look of realization then appears on his face. "Of course. The Lords' Alliance. You both came here on Alliance business. So...forgive me for prying, but is he specifically your business here?"

"Yes. He was sent here two months ago to establish order in the name of the Alliance. He was supposed to send word back to Neverwinter once he had settled in here, but we never heard from him.

"Sounds like your town could really have used his help with these Redbrands. Odd coincidence, though, that he disappeared right before they showed up..." Sildar strokes his beard with a skeptical frown.

"I'm afraid I can't help you there, but I'd wager my shop that the Redbrands were somehow involved in his disappearance. Maybe they even followed him here. That Glasstaff...who knows with those wizard types. Maybe they were old enemies."

"Yes," Sildar replies. "I'll have to have a word with these Redbrands, right after I have a word with Wester. Get to the bottom of all of this." He holds out his hand, which Barthen firmly shakes. "Thank you, my friend. You've been most helpful."

Rudo interjects. "Face it, Hallwinter. Your friend Albrek is dead. The thugs cut his throat the day he showed up here. And you know it."

He smirks. "As luck would have it, though, I just finished a job and happen to be in need of further employment. Seeing as this town is peopled with nothing but spineless peasants and weaklings, I'd say right now I'm about the only real option you've got. Unless you happen to know of some other place up here in Bumpkin Hills where seasoned professional warriors can be found for hire.

"Forget about Albrek. Asking around town about him is a pointless dead end that will only warn your enemies you're coming and give them time to set up a trap. Let's just kick in their door and kill them all."

He nods at Barthen. "You heard the man. They're a bunch of dirty criminals destined for the noose anyway, and that's if they're lucky. Five gold pieces per body, and I'll stack the corpses so high you could rebuild the town wall with them."

Rudo chuckles. "And that's one way to give pause to any would-be goblin raiding force."

Sildar stares at Rudo throughout the dwarf's monologue, a cold expression on his face. "I thank you for your offer, master dwarf," he replies when Rudo finally finishes his sales pitch. "Perhaps I may take you up on it...eventually. But I will keep my own counsel, thank you, about the value of conducting a thorough investigation. In the meantime you may await my summons in the local tavern, or move on in search of more immediate employment, as it suits you."

Rudo shrugs. "I'll stick around for a few days. There's got to be a wench or two in this town in need of a good scrubbing by Rudo's legendary broom handle."

Willow shakes her head, grimacing in disgust.

Zhaquadan collects his rations and says "many thanks friend" turns and nods to his companions and leaves the shop to casually explore the rest of village on the way to the manor.

Barthen turns to the rest of the group. "And how about the rest of you? Surely you have some basic supplies you'll be needing to replenish. What can I get for you?" He gestures toward the rows of shelves filling the room. "As you can see, I'm fully stocked with whatever you may need for the road."

"Do you happen to have any blank ledger books available?"

"Of course," Barthen replies with a smile. "I always keep several ledger books on hand, since a lot of miners come through here needing to keep records of their claims and prospects. Fine, leather-bound journal books hand-made in Neverwinter. One hundred pages each, only ten gold pieces."

As he speaks, Barthen turns around and bends over to examine the lower shelves of the cabinet behind the counter. After rummaging for a moment, he turns back holding a small, neat leather-bound book, which he places on the counter in front of Steamknuckle.

Steamknuckle briefly examines the book, then responds, "I'll take it." He counts out ten gold coins from his purse and lays them on the counter, then collects the book and stows it neatly in his backpack.

Barthen picks up the gold from the counter. "Many thanks, my friend."

He looks over the rest of the party. "Anything else for my new friends? Provisions, clothing, tools, anything?"

"I'm good. Ol' Mudskipper here must have left his lunch pail at home on this trip, since I've still got a good week's rations left. That should be plenty to get me wherever I go next.

"I say next thing, we head on over to that inn to avail ourselves of a frosty mug of ale. Been too damn long since I had a proper drink."

"Agreed," Sildar says. "Unless there's anything else any of you would like to buy while we're here..." He scans the party and, seeing no objections, continues. "I for one could use a hot meal and a drink. Let's check in to the inn and stow our belongings there, then get something to eat. After that we head over to the town hall to have a word with this Wester fellow about organizing a rescue effort."

"Lionshield," Stumpy interjects with a growl. "The crates, in my wagon. Can't hold on to them forever."

"Of course. I'd forgotten." Sildar smiles warmly at Stumpy. "It was honorable of you to make room in your wagon to return those goods. We should see to their safe return as soon as possible.

"But in light of the danger Gundren is in, I think the town master should be notified first. I'll ask that you wait until after I've met with Wester to return the Lionshield supplies. I'd like to broker that exchange myself, if you don't mind, so I can have words with the proprietor of their trading post here in town."

Stumpy snorts. "Suit yourself."

Sildar turns back to Barthen. "Thank you so much for all your help, my friend. Can you please direct us to the inn here in town, as well as to the town hall, and then wherever the Lionshields have set themselves up?"

"Of course," Barthen replies. "The Stonehill Inn is just down the street here on the the left, three doors down. It's one of the biggest buildings in town, you can't miss it, just before the town square opens up.

"The Lionshield Coster is directly across the square from the inn, on your right as you pass down the Miners' Trail out the south end of town.

"Then, the town hall is right across the street from the Lionshield Coster. On your left as you leave the square heading south. You can't miss it, with the bell tower in the back."

The party offers Barthen a final word of thanks, then heads outside the shop to the wagon. As they roll down the street toward the inn, they pass by Zhaquadan on his casual stroll through town.

"You are an odd one," Willow remarks as she pulls up alongside the dwarf on her mount. "Just couldn't wait to get out of that shop, could you? Who knows what kind of critical information you might have missed after you walked out of there..." She smiles.

"We're heading to the inn right now. Care to join us?"

"I guess, but I really think we should talk with the leadership of this place as soon as possible" Zhaquadan says as he falls in with the party.

"Do not worry, my friend," Sildar says. "It is still early, so the town master is likely still waking up. We will just get rooms at the inn and some breakfast, speak with the innkeeper for a moment perhaps, and then we will be on our way to have words with Wester."

Together the party moves down the main dirt road toward the center of town. On their right they pass a modest smithy, its proprietor busy at work hammering horseshoes in the crisp morning air of his open workshop. He looks up at them briefly before returning to his work with a grunt.

Soon the travelers approach the town square, a wide dirt clearing surrounded on three sides by the larger log buildings of the town. On their left, at the northeast corner of the square, they pass a large, newly built roadhouse of fieldstone and rough-hewn timbers. More large buildings span the square along its east and south sides. To the right stands what looks like a humble shrine built from the ancient stones of old Phandalin, and beyond that a wide green field stretches out from the west edge of the square.

The path enters the square and then curves off to the left in front of the roadhouse to form the main east-west street of the town. Peering down the street, the group sees in the distance a series of dirt switchbacks marking the climb up to the old manor house at the east end of town.

Eventually their eyes settle on the front door of the roadhouse before them. A small wooden sign hangs beside the door, reading "Stonehill Inn". Beyond that, a wide grass alley opens to the right of the building, with tracks indicating a resting place for vehicles and beasts of burden.
This message was last edited by the GM at 07:08, Fri 12 Aug 2016.

"I'll just park the wagon out back and tend to the oxen for a minute," Stumpy says. "You guys head on in and I'll be right behind you."

"Yes, I'll need to find a place for Burgess as well. Please get me a private room if one is available, and a plate of whatever hot food they happen to be serving. I'll be in in a moment to cover my bill."

"Just keep an eye on that chest," Rudo grumbles. "As soon as we've got our room keys then first thing we need to do is drag that thing up where it's safe, and divvy up that treasure."

Rudo frowns defensively at the weary looks of his comrades. "What? You heard Barthen, who knows what kind of thieves and scoundrels might be sneaking around this inn. I for one don't plan to wait until it goes missing to lay hands on what I've rightfully earned. A fair share of that treasure is mine, so don't go giving me dirty looks just because I'm ready to collect."
This message was last edited by the player at 19:55, Tue 18 Oct 2016.

"Of course," Steamknuckle says quickly before Willow has a chance to object. "Might as well settle everything up while we have a moment to relax. It won't take but a few minutes. Then we can have our breakfast and be on our way to the town hall." He flashes a conciliatory smile.

Willow frowns at Rudo, but says nothing. After a moment she turns Burgess and trots off down the alley beside the inn.

The party collects their belongings from the wagon and gathers at the front door of the inn. Stumpy snaps the reins and drives the oxen forward, disappearing around the corner of the building into the alley.

Sildar takes a moment to gather himself, then pushes the door open and walks in. The party follows.

A spacious, dimly lit common room opens up before them. A handful of early-drinking locals sit at the bar off to the left, nursing mugs of ale or cider. They turn and eye the group with curiosity as they enter. The room is otherwise empty, with a dozen or more open tables and chairs scattered about and the embers of a cozy fire dwindling in a great hearth against the left wall. A narrow staircase leads up the far wall to the upper floor, and presumably the inn's private rooms.

As the party enters, a short young man comes around from behind the bar to welcome the newcomers. He smiles broadly as he walks up.

"Well met, my friends. Welcome to Phandalin! We don't get many visitors here. I'm Toblen Stonehill, the innkeeper. Would you like rooms?"

"Indeed," Sildar replies. "How many rooms do you have available?"

"Six private rooms, all upstairs. Five silver per night, including meals. Then there's the public room, sleeps a dozen comfortably, only two silver a night there. Board included either way."
This message was last updated by the player at 05:39, Fri 12 Aug 2016.

"I'll take a room. I'll pay for a week in advance, but Barthen has my bankroll so I'll have to get back to you later today with the payment. Would you mind taking my word on this?"

Sildar pauses just a moment before speaking again. "But where are my manners? Please forgive me, I haven't introduced myself. I am Sildar Hallwinter, of the Lords' Alliance." He holds his hand out for the innkeeper to shake.

"Another of you, eh? Our little town must be very important indeed to attract so much attention from the Lords' Alliance."

Stonehill grasps Sildar's hand and shakes it firmly. "Well met, my lord. You are most welcome under our roof, and please do not trouble yourself with handling the payment for your stay. I will visit Barthen myself to work out the details.

"I must say, though, you've arrived not a moment too soon. This town is in dire need of some protection from the likes of the Alliance."
This message was last edited by the player at 06:25, Fri 12 Aug 2016.

"So I've heard. But I gather from your previous remarks that you've already met my predecessor, Iarno Albrek? What can you tell me about what befell him?"

"My apologies, but I couldn't say. He came in a couple of months ago, perfect gentleman, took a room for the night and then left the next morning. I never saw him again.

"It seemed like he had some important business here in town, but nobody I know ever found out what that was.

"Wasn't another day until those wretched Redbrands showed up. Just in time to miss the Alliance wizard who might have cooked them all in their boots for us, had they showed up just a day earlier."

"I see." Sildar strokes his beard thoughtfully. "We'll talk some more on this later. But for now, my companions and I would like to settle into our rooms and then enjoy a nice hot meal to shake off the dust of the road. Would you mind preparing something for us?"

"Of course, of course," Stonehill beams. "I'll have my wife whip up a hearty batch of bread, eggs and sausage for you in no time."

The innkeeper turns to the rest of the party. "And for you, my friends? Would you like your own rooms?"

"Of course. And I'll have a flagon of your best ale with my breakfast."

Rudo reaches into his coin purse and produces a single gold coin, handing it to the innkeeper. "Start up a tab for me. I hope you have plenty of ale on hand; you'll need it with me as your guest."

"Oh yes, I almost forgot," Sildar says. "Our companion Willow, a young halfling woman, would like her own room as well. She's tending to her mount outside right now, but she'll be in shortly.

"And there's also our friend Stumpy, our wagon driver. I'm not sure if he'll want his own room, but I imagine so.

"They'll both be wanting some breakfast, as well."

Steamknuckle turns to Zhaquadan. "What do you say, old friend? Split a room?"

Stonehill interjects politely. "You're welcome to share a room, but meals run a silver per day, so that would be an extra silver for the two of you. Three silver each per night."

"Yes that sounds agreeable" turning to the innkeeper Zhaquadan inquires "can you make some change for a gold piece please?   I would like to pay for just one night for now" as he retrieves a gold piece and places it on the counter.   He continues to eagerly ask "Did you happen to meet some dwarves with the name Rockseeker a short time ago?"
This message was last edited by the player at 18:32, Sat 13 Aug 2016.

"Of course, my friend," Stonehill says as Zhaquadan hands over his gold piece. The innkeeper collects another gold piece from Steamknuckle, then reaches into his belt pouch and begins counting out silver coins as the dwarf continues speaking.

"Oh yes, of course I know the Rockseekers," he replies to the dwarf's second question. "Everyone in town knows them. We get plenty of miners coming through here, but it's not every day you meet someone who's managed to find the legendary Wave Echo Cave. Gotten a lot of folks stirred up pretty good in these parts, that.

"I spoke to Gundren about it myself when he first came back to town after they found the place. In fact, I might have been the first one to know. He tried to keep it hush, but you know how that works out; word got out pretty fast. I used to be a miner myself, you know. I can understand the excitement of finding a claim like that. It spreads like the plague. Maybe that's what brought those Redbrand rats out of their holes...the smell of success. It's like something rotten, you have to bury it or all the scavengers come crawling out of the woodwork.

"Haven't seen any of the Rockseekers in quite a while, though. Not since this whole Redbrand business started getting out of hand. Guess they're just hiding out in the hills for now. Smart move, too, I suppose, since those thugs would no doubt love to get their hands on a piece of that claim, any way they could."

Stonehill finishes counting out his coins, and hands seven silver pieces in change each to Zhaquadan and Steamknuckle.

As the innkeeper speaks, the front door of the inn opens and everyone turns to see Willow enter, silhouetted by the much taller frame of Stumpy following shortly behind. True to his name, he limps on an old wooden peg leg which taps loudly against the plank floor with each step. Between them they carry the plain wooden chest looted from Klarg's lair.

Together they hoist the chest up over the threshold, and approach the group just as Stonehill completes his previous transaction with the dwarf and gnome.
This message was last edited by the GM at 07:20, Sun 14 Aug 2016.

The innkeeper tries his best to avoid looking at Stumpy's peg leg while greeting the newcomers.

"Well met, my friends!" He faces the halfling ranger first. "You must be Willow. Your room is ready for you, madam. Only five silver pieces per night, meals included." He smiles warmly, then turns to Stumpy.

"And you must be...Stumpy." He falters a bit, obviously uncomfortable at using such a derogatory nickname to address a newly met customer. "Would you like a room as well, sir?"

Willow nods and produces a gold piece, which she hands to the innkeeper. She waits patiently as he fumbles at his belt pouch for her change during his awkward greeting to Stumpy.
This message was last edited by the player at 07:09, Sun 14 Aug 2016.

As usual, Stumpy stares stoically at Stonehill, apparently unconcerned at the insult of his nickname. "Yes," he responds tersely to the innkeeper's question. He reaches into his belt pouch for a gold piece and hands it over. This time Stonehill is more deft with the change, which Stumpy accepts with a small nod.

"Very good, we're all settled then," Rudo says impatiently. "Now, if you would please be so kind as to show us to our rooms."

"Of course." Stonehill turns and walks over to the staircase, waiting patiently for the party to gather their belongings and follow him up to the second floor.

At the top of the stairs, a hallway stretches off to the left, spanning the length of the inn with three closed doors on each side before reaching a final door at the far end. Stonehill stops at the landing and digs briefly in his belt pouch to produce five brass keys, all very similar in appearance except for a differently colored short length of silk ribbon tied to each. He hands Sildar the one with a white ribbon, Steamknuckle the gray one, Rudo orange, Willow green and Stumpy blue.

Looking down the corridor, the party sees a small wooden plaque posted on the wall next to each door, with a differently colored square painted on each. The colors of the plaques match the colors of the keys' ribbons, with only the far right room, marked by a yellow square, unaccounted for. The single door at the far end of the hallway does not have a plaque mounted next to it.

"The colors of the keys match the colors of your rooms," the innkeeper says. "Thank you so much for your custom, my friends. If there's anything I can do to make your stay more comfortable, please let me know. Your breakfast will be ready downstairs shortly." He bows, then turns and retreats back down the stairs.
This message was last edited by the player at 14:57, Sun 14 Aug 2016.

"Okay then." Rudo claps his hands together, staring at the chest. "My room is the orange one. Let's drag that chest in there and then divvy up this cash, fair and square."

"Well, as I have no claim to a share of that treasure, I'll excuse myself and retire to my room for a moment. I'll meet you all downstairs shortly for breakfast."

Sildar gathers his things and then uses his key to enter the last room on the left, marked with a white square on the plaque beside it. He closes the door behind him, and the party is left alone in the hallway.

Seeing no other objections from the rest of the party, Rudo grasps one end of the chest and looks up at the others expectantly. Stumpy reaches down to pick up the other end, and together they lug the chest a short way down the hall and into the second room on the right, which Rudo opens with his key matching the orange of the room's wall plaque.

The room is small and sparsely furnished, with a small bed in one corner and only a narrow bare table and chair to fill out the rest of the space. A small glass-paned window overlooks the dirt road outside on which the party arrived earlier that morning. Above the bed, on the right-hand wall, rests a quaint painting of a ship caught at sea in a windy storm.

Stumpy's peg leg taps on the wooden floor as he and Rudo heft the chest through the door, dropping it with a dull thud onto the floor beside the bed.

Steamknuckle steps up to the chest as everyone else gathers behind him to watch. "Let's see here then," he mutters, lifting the latch and raising the lid. A heap of copper and silver coins gleams in the light of the window.

Steamknuckle begins methodically counting out all the coins in the chest, piling them up in neat stacks on the table. As the coins begin to clear away, however, a vague shape surfaces beneath the mass of treasure at the bottom of the chest.

"What's this?" Steamknuckle muses, lifting the object out from beneath the piled coins to hold it aloft. In his hands is what appears to be a thin cylindrical leather scroll case.

"We missed it back at the cave," Willow says. "The bugbear must have left it at the bottom of the chest to keep it hidden. Go on, open it up. Let's see what's inside."

Urged on by his companions, Steamknuckle opens the leather case and draws from it a single musty scrap of parchment. He unrolls it and holds it up for the party to see. Drawn on its surface in crude charcoal is what appears to be a simple map.

The party quickly recognizes the depicted location as their own immediate surroundings. Two perpendicular lines mark what appear to be the intersection of the High Road and the Triboar Trail, with the coast of the Sea of Swords looming off to the left and the dark bulk of Neverwinter Wood pressing down from above.

Three landmarks are also marked on the map with smudged X'es of charcoal. Judging from their locations relative to the drawn roads, the party recognizes two of these landmarks as the town of Phandalin and, close to the main road intersection, what looks like the rough location of Klarg's cave. A childish grinning bugbear face is drawn beside the latter X.

The third landmark is one that the party does not immediately recognize, but soon becomes clear as they examine it. Its X lies roughly north of Phandalin, above the Triboar Trail and just within the dark shape representing Neverwinter Wood. Beside it is drawn a simple image of what looks like the crenelated ramparts of a castle.

"The castle..." Willow whispers in awe. "That's where they're holding Gundren!"

"This map is very crude," Steamknuckle cautions. "It really only shows us the general location of the castle. I mean, it certainly points us in the right direction, but we'll still need to search out its exact location once we get there."

"That's no problem. With this map, I'll find that castle within a day."

Rudo clears his throat loudly. When the rest of the party looks over at him, he nods his head toward the remaining heap of coins in the chest, widening his eyes impatiently.

"You shallow bastard..." Willow turns her back to Rudo in disgust, crossing her arms. "Fine. Finish counting the coins and give this heartless creature his bloody share."

Steamknuckle shrugs and rolls up the map to return it to its case, then resumes counting out the coins. When the chest is empty, he anounces the tally. "125 silver, 600 copper, three...gold teeth, one small jade frog with golden eyes, and two thick brown sludgy potions."

He turns to face the rest of the party. "The coin we split up evenly, of course. The potions we'll have to discuss once I manage to identify them, as they may be more valuable to us if we save them for later. The trinkets, well, I guess we'll need to have those appraised and then sold to split their value evenly. All liquid proceeds get divided four ways..." Steamknuckle trails off as his eyes meet Stumpy's, and he smiles sheepishly.

"My apologies to you, my friend, but I believe these shares are due only to those of us who actually cleared out the goblin cave."
This message was last edited by the player at 06:11, Mon 15 Aug 2016.

"Of course." Stumpy suddenly looks uncharacteristically self-conscious as all the other eyes in the room turn toward him. "None of this is mine. I just drove the wagon. In fact, I'm not even sure why I'm in here right now. It's just..."

He trails off, but with everyone else waiting expectantly for him to continue, he realizes it's too late to back off now. "It's just I'd forgotten what it felt like to be in a real fight, and then those goblins tried to ambush us, and...then when Sildar gave me that extra five gold for helping get him here...I don't know. It caught me off guard. It just brought back something I thought I'd lost a long time ago."

The atmosphere in the room is surreal as everyone listens to Stumpy speak more words at once than any of them have ever heard him say combined.

"I know I'm not much use with this leg," he continues in his rumbling bass. "But I own my own sturdy wagon with two fine oxen. I can care for the beasts and repair the wagon myself if need be. And I'm a better shot with a crossbow than anyone you'll ever meet, and that's not boasting. It's a cold fact.

"I don't want to be an aimless drunk doing cheap caravan jobs any more. As long as you lot are working together, seems you're likely to pull decent wages with good salvage benefits from whatever jobs you take. Well, I'd like to be your driver and cargo handler. I can help fight off anything we run into on the road, and stay behind to protect the wagon and the beasts while you're in the field."

He looks each party member squarely in the eye. "All I ask for this is a quarter share of whatever you make. Not including this haul, of course. But going forward."

Steamknuckle's eyes sparkle. "Seems I might not have wasted my money on that ledger book after all!" He smiles widely.

"What say you, friends?" he asks, turning to the other party members. "Who knows how much longer we'll be working together, but for the time being there seem to be plenty of loose ends for us to tie up around here, and working together we stand a much better chance of getting any of these done than if we split up now.

"Stumpy's offer seems reasonable to me, and I for one think we should accept it."

Rudo purses his lips thoughtfully. "I don't have anything better to do right now, and it's true...plenty of leads for a good payday seem to be stacking up around here. Much fatter pickings than up there in boring old Neverwinter.

"Let's just say this. I'll stick around as long as the money's good. Once that dries up, then I'm out of here."

"I'm here to save Gundren Rockseeker. To get that done, I'll gladly accept any help I can get. But once he's returned safe and sound to Phandalin, I will never again work with this filthy sellsword." Willow scowls directly at Rudo. "I will immediately ride off in the opposite direction of wherever this animal happens to be heading.

"Until then, sure. Give Stumpy whatever you feel is fair for his help. Whatever we give him, he's worth more."

"Friends, friends," Steamknuckle says soothingly, putting a hand on the shoulders of both Willow and Rudo to bring them together. "I know you've had your differences in the past, but you're both very good at what you do, and very valuable to our team.

"Let's face it, we all need to work together to have any chance of rescuing Gundren from that castle full of goblins. So let's just try to put our differences aside for the time being. Hopefully by the time we're done the two of you can somehow manage to patch things up and make peace."

Steamknuckle turns to his friend Zhaquadan. "What do you say, old friend? Are you comfortable with solidifying our little adventuring company here by granting good Stumpy his request for a quarter share of our earnings?"

"Sounds good to me."

"Then it's settled. For now we stick together, under the standard charter: decisions made by majority vote, liquid earnings split evenly, hard earnings distributed according to benefit to the company. Stumpy provides transportation and cargo security in exchange for a quarter share of earnings, and carries a quarter vote in decisions. I'll keep the books in this ledger." He pulls out his newly purchased ledger book for the party to see.

"For now, 125 silver split four ways comes out to 31 and a quarter silver each, so three of us get 31 silver and one gets 32. The three who got one less silver each get 10 copper to make up for it. Make sense?" He pauses for a brief moment and, despite the look of confusion on Rudo's face, presses on when he hears no immediate objection.

"So that's 30 copper from the 600 to settle the silver remainder, leaving 570, which split four ways is..." he pauses to do a quick calculation in his head. "142 and a half copper each. So two of us get 143 and the other two get 142, and are owed a copper from the next payout to even things out."

He looks around at the party with a smile. "Make sense?"

"No." Rudo stares sternly at Steamknuckle. "Don't think you can go and cheat me with your fast talk, gnome. By Tempus, if you steal one copper from me I'll split you from stem to sternum with this axe, I swear it."

"Oh, shut up, you blustering fool. His numbers made perfect sense. Look."

Willow efficiently rearranges the coins into four groups of stacks on the table. The first consists of 32 silver pieces and 143 copper pieces. "There. This pile can be yours, so you get to be the one with the most silver. Add it up yourself to see how much is there."

Then she points at the next pile, which contains 31 silver pieces and 153 copper pieces."Now look at this one." She speaks condescendingly, as if explaining to a child. "As you can see, it's got one less silver, but ten more copper. Adds up to the same amount, right? Because, you see, ten copper equals one silver."

Finally she points at the remaining two piles, each of which contains 31 silver pieces and 152 copper pieces. "Compare these stacks to that one. They're the same size, as you can clearly see, except these two each have one less copper. We don't have enough copper to split evenly four ways. So these two are each owed a copper from the next set of earnings we receive.

"Do you understand now? Or do you need me to draw you a diagram?"

Rudo smiles. "Thanks, Kitten. Just needed to count it all out to be sure." He lifts his eyebrows at her. "I like you when you're angry."

Willow scoffs and shakes her head in disgust as she gathers up one of the shorter piles. Rudo smiles contentedly as he sweeps the first pile into his belt pouch. Steamknuckle then grabs the other short pile, leaving the last one for Zhaquadan.

"I'll hold on to this map," Willow says, depositing the map case into her backpack. "Steamknuckle, you deal with the trinkets." She watches as the gnome picks up Yeemik's leather pouch from the empty chest and gathers the jade frog and three gold teeth into it.

"As for these potions...you said you could identify them?"
This message was last edited by the player at 14:32, Tue 16 Aug 2016.

"I know a spell that can identify them, yes, but I need a pearl to make it work. I don't happen to have one on me right now."

"A pearl? Like from an oyster? Where can we get one of those?"

Steamknuckle shrugs apologetically. "I don't know. I'm sorry. Maybe someone in town has one, although it wouldn't be cheap. I don't think I could afford it even if we did find one. Perhaps they'd just let me borrow it for a few minutes.

"Most likely we'll need to pay someone to identify the potions for us. At least until I can get my hands on that pearl."

"Very well then. Let's just store them in the chest for now. We can use the chest to hold all of our shared belongings. I'll keep it in my room with me, to keep an eye on it."

Willow produces Gundren's empty map case from the goblin ambush site, and drops it into the chest. Then she pulls out the thick white pelt taken from Klarg's pet wolf, and stuffs that into the chest along with the two unidentified potions.
This message was last edited by the player at 22:06, Mon 15 Aug 2016.

"Excellent! That pretty much wraps up all of our business here." Steamknuckle pauses a moment, grinning. "Except...there is just one more tiny thing. You may recall, on our first night out of Neverwinter, we engaged in an entertaining evening of copper-ante Spellfire..."

Rudo groans, shaking his head.

"Yes indeed, the very same. Now, as I recall, I was the big winner that evening; I finished 40 copper up, with good Stumpy here just behind me at 33 copper in winnings. Zhaquadan finished down 23 copper and Rudo, of the legendary prowess at the Spellfire table, lost a total of 50 copper that evening." Steamknuckle smiles politely at Rudo.

Rudo grumbles as he and Zhaquadan dig into their belt pouches to relieve themselves of their respective losses from among the heap of copper coins they just received. The pile of 73 total copper pieces is then divided into Steamknuckle's and Stumpy's respective winnings, which they both pocket with smug pleasure.
This message was last edited by the GM at 23:20, Mon 15 Aug 2016.

"Okay then. Let's all take a minute to move our things into our rooms, then meet downstairs for breakfast. We need to get moving and get over to the town hall as soon as possible."

Willow then surprises everyone by hefting the chest and leading the way out of the room. Rudo reaches to help her, but she shakes her head and brushes past him. She then heads over to her room, unlocks the door, and bustles inside with the chest still in her arms.

The rest of the party moves to their respective rooms to deposit their belongings and take a short rest before breakfast. Zhaquadan and Steamknuckle head over to the gray room, directly across from Rudo's orange room.

They enter and find their room nearly identical to Rudo's, except with a window facing the opposite side of the inn, overlooking the grassy alleyway below with a view leading up to the manor house atop the hill to the east. The painting above the bed is of a black crow furtively peeking around the edge of a clay jug overflowing with water.

"Remember," Steamknuckle says as both he and Zhaquadan stow their excess gear beneath the bed. "We're here to find Iarno Albrek for the Guild. We have a moral obligation to not leave Gundren to die in that castle, but we mustn't get distracted by anything else before we settle our main purpose here."
This message was last edited by the player at 22:44, Fri 06 Oct 2017.

"It is my belief that where we find one we will find the other.  I just fear that the wrong people have already found this cave and that we are not prepared to storm either the castle or the cave" Zhaquadan says.

"I see. Perhaps. The goblins do have the map, and it does seem that no one has seen Gundren's brothers in quite a while. Highly troubling.

"But that doesn't necessarily mean they've been found. Perhaps they just haven't run out of supplies yet. Our shipment was meant to resupply them, and we only just arrived in town, on schedule. They wouldn't have started to worry about missing that shipment yet. They might still be waiting safe and sound out in the hills.

"Besides, the map was only taken from Gundren at most a couple of days ago. It would have taken time to get it to the goblin castle, and then they'd have to organize and dispatch a force to locate the mine. Time is running out, for certain, but the odds seem good that they haven't actually reached the mine yet."

Steamknuckle sighs. "I guess this means we have to make a choice. Do we attempt to rescue Gundren, and risk letting the goblins and this 'Black Spider' find the mine in the meantime, or do we abandon Gundren to his fate and try to race the goblins to the mine?"

He looks at Zhaquadan. "Honestly, it seems our choice has already been made for us. We cannot locate the mine without the map. All we know about the map is that it was taken to the castle. So our only real option now is to head to the castle, and hope the map is still there when we arrive.

"And of course, as you mentioned, there's the matter of how exactly we're going to storm an entire castle by ourselves..."

Zhaquadan sighs and says "Indeed you are almost certainly right, we must assume the Rockseekers are safe for now and focus on gaining entrance to the castle in the hopes of finding Gundren and his map, or at the very least the direction the goblin forces have departed in.  If there is a militia of any kind here we would do well to enlist their help, but the situation seems dire, and the chances of enlisting help slim.  We have done much together old friend, I'm sure we can prevail here as well.  We must not dally long here."

"Agreed. Let's go downstairs now for some breakfast, and then on to the town hall."

Zhaquadan and Steamknuckle leave their room, locking the door behind them, and head toward the stairs. In the hallway they meet Rudo as he leaves his own room, and together the three descend the stairs to the inn's common room. They arrive to find Willow, Stumpy and Sildar already seated at a table tucked into a discreet corner, looking over the goblin map and discussing its significance. The remaining companions arrive and Willow rolls up the map to return it to her pack.

Shortly after everyone is seated, a wispy young woman with stringy brown hair bustles through a door behind the bar, bearing trays of food. She delivers the food to the party's table with a smile.
This message was last edited by the GM at 15:42, Wed 24 Aug 2016.

"There you are. Fresh-scrambled eggs, pork sausage, fried bread and potatoes. I see you've already got your ale." She nods at Rudo's flagon, smiling. "I'm Trilena, the innkeeper's wife. Is there anything else I can get for you? Or perhaps any questions I can answer about our fine town?"

"This will be fine, thank you. Although I do have a question. Do you happen to remember seeing a man named Iarno Albrek pass through here about two months ago? Short, dark beard, wizardly type?"

"Yes, my husband just mentioned you were asking about him earlier. I do remember him. Fine gentleman, paid for one night's lodging I believe, then disappeared. Said he was here on some official business from Neverwinter, but he didn't seem too interested in talking about it. I couldn't say where he went off to after that. Nobody around here's seen him since.

"Then those vile Redbrands showed up. Toblen's convinced they had something to do with your friend's disappearance, but who knows? Maybe he just had a word with Wester and left." She pauses a moment, frowning. "Does seem like a strange coincidence though, the timing of it."

"Indeed. What can you tell me about these Redbrands?"

Trilena grimaces. "Foul devilspawn. They come in here about once a week, demanding money in exchange for their 'protection.' Protection from what? The only thing we need protection from is them."

Her friendly demeanor melts away as the frustration boils over in her voice. "Life used to be peaceful here. What brought them here? That's what I want to know. Why don't they go prey on rich travelers on the High Road, or lurk in the shadows of Neverwinter where folk actually have something in their pockets to steal? We have nothing here, we're just a humble mining town trying to scrape two coppers together before winter. And now this."

She looks around briefly before leaning forward, lowering her voice to a conspiratorial whisper. "I'll tell you what. About a tenday ago, Thel Dendrar, he's a woodcarver here in town, well, they came by his shop trying to squeeze coin from him, and he stood up to them. He asked them what there was for him to need their protection from, and he also didn't like the way they were leering at his poor wife. Those bastards, they killed him, and then they took his body. Several townsfolk saw it happen. I guess they had to make an example of him, and show the rest of us exactly why we need to pay up.

"I heard it from his wife herself, she rushed over here with their son and daughter right after it happened. 'Now what am I going to do?' she asked me, and what could I say? She's right. With her husband gone, they have no livelihood left, and nobody left to protect those poor orphans from whatever the damned Redbrands decide to do next.

"And you know what? She was right. She went to Wester next, but what did he do? Nothing. That fat pig just shrugged his shoulders and sent her on her way. And then two days later she's gone, and both children too. Just gone. She wouldn't have left town, she has nowhere else to go and no way of getting there. So it had to be them. Who knows what they've done with that poor family?" She crosses her arms and looks away, sighing in despair.
This message was last edited by the player at 22:24, Tue 23 Aug 2016.

"I see," Sildar says quietly. "Thank you for sharing this with us. I understand the risk you're taking by even mentioning this, and I assure you that no one will know we heard this from you.

"My name is Sildar Hallwinter. Much like Master Albrek, I am here on Lords' Alliance business, although I assure you I have no intention of disappearing from town anytime soon. My business takes me to the town hall next, so I promise you, I will have words with Wester and straighten this out. This Redbrand problem will be addressed, and soon."

Trilena smiles, although her skepticism is plain. "I believe you mean well, sir, but begging your pardon, there's only six of you and you'll get no help from Wester. I'm not sure how you plan to take on the entire Redbrand gang by yourselves.

"I will say, though, there's not a soul here in town with any love lost for those ruffians. If you were to get into a fight with them, might be you could count on some help from one or two of the stouter-hearted folk here in town. They wouldn't dare stand up to them on their own, but seeing you here, maybe they'd be heartened enough to join the fight. If I were you I'd talk to them, not Wester.

"Wait around till later this evening, around sunset, when some of the tougher old farmers and miners come in for their evening drinks. I'd say they're your best bet for drumming up some support to take on those Redbrands.

"Could be one or two of them might have talked to your friend from Neverwinter, too, while he was here."

Sildar thanks Trilena, and with a small bow she turns and whisks back into the kitchen. The group eats their breakfast mostly in silence, exhausted from their travels and absorbing the grimness of their situation. They soon finish, and in silent agreement stand up to head over to the town hall.

As the party leaves the inn and walks down along the eastern edge of the town square, they see on their left a large building with sturdy stone walls, a pitched wooden roof, and a bell tower at the back. They approach to see a large wooden board next to the front door, with a parchment notice nailed to it written in the Common tongue. It reads, "REWARD - Orcs near Wyvern Tor! Those of a mind to face the orc menace should inquire within." The notice bears the seal of the town of Phandalin and an indecipherable signature.

Sildar steps up to the front door and knocks loudly. The party gathers behind him.

After a moment, the party hears a faint shuffling of footsteps from behind the door, and then the rattle of the handle turning. The door opens slightly and a plump white-bearded face emerges from the crack. The man looks tired, as if he just recently woke up.

"Yes?" he asks hesitantly. "What...what can I do for you?"

Sildar's face and voice are stern. "I am Sildar Hallwinter, of Neverwinter. I am here on Lords' Alliance business. I seek the townmaster of Phandalin, Harbin Wester."

"That...that is me." Wester suddenly appears wide awake. "Please, friends, come in. Be welcome in Phandalin." He opens the door more fully and gestures for the party to enter with a sweep of his arm.

As the party enters the town hall, they find themselves in a short, wide corridor with three doors, one to either side and the third directly ahead, opposite the front door. Plain wooden benches rest beside the two side doors, and a wooden plaque with the words "Hall of Justice" carved into it sits above the door ahead. The door on the right is slightly open, with a small sign posted above it that reads "Office of the Townmaster." The other two doors are closed.

Wester shuffles over to the open door of his office, then turns around to usher the party through the door. He is wearing a suit of fine clothes, with a gold chain around his neck and several gaudy rings on his fingers. From the plumpness of his frame and the manner in which he bears himself, it seems he does not lack for comfort in any aspect of his life.

Once everyone is inside the office, he walks around his polished oak desk and seats himself in the soft upholstered chair behind it. There are no other chairs in the room, so the party is left standing.

"So, my friends, what brings you to our fine town?" Wester steeples his fingers in a pretentious pose of authority.

"I am here in search of Iarno Albrek, my colleague from the Lords' Alliance. He was sent here two months ago, but we never heard from him. Have you seen him?"

"Ah, yes," Wester replies with a smile. "The wizard who was sent here to assume authority over my town. As if there was any need for it. Yes, he came to see me, we spoke briefly, and then he left. I assumed he saw for himself how little need there was for his presence here.

"As you'll soon discover yourself, sir, we are quite sufficiently prosperous and secure here on our own, without the meddling of your 'Lords' Alliance,' thank you very much."
This message was last edited by the player at 16:55, Wed 24 Aug 2016.

"Is that so? What about these 'Redbrands,' then? It seems you and your townsfolk may not see quite eye to eye about the true measure of 'security' in this town. What have you done to address this problem?"

Harbin Wester's expression grows flat. "There is no problem. They're just a mercenary guild, and not all that much trouble, really. They came to town a couple of months ago to rest for a while in their travels, and we're not a town to turn away weary folk in need of a place to rest.

"If you ask me, their presence is actually a boon to this town. They bring their hard-won coin to the Sleeping Giant tavern, and in the event that brigands or monsters were to happen by, we would actually have a force of armed and competent men to chase them off. Without them, we would be helpless."

"You seem to be lacking an awareness of the true state of affairs in your town," Sildar replies flatly. "How did you come to be the townmaster here?"

Wester is clearly ruffled by Sildar's words. "I was duly elected by the townsfolk of Phandalin!" he protests hotly. "What you do not understand is that Phandalin is little more than a glorified mining camp. There is no functioning government here, nor does there need to be. Each year the people elect a townmaster to serve as judge in any minor disputes that may occur, and to keep the town records. I happen to be the first and only man to hold that position.

"Do I like look a master of guards to you? We have no guards. I am an arbiter and a coin-counter. And considering all my many years as successful banker back in Waterdeep and Neverwinter, quite frankly I was the obvious choice for the position, and I've done a fine job at it.

"Your accusations are baseless and ill-informed, sir. So what if the Redbrands get a little rowdy every now and then? They're mercenaries, they live a hard life and need to blow off some steam. It's not my job to keep the peace in every taproom in town. They haven't caused any real harm, and they won't. So please, kindly stop nosing your way into business that isn't yours on your very first day here in town."
This message was last edited by the player at 20:28, Wed 24 Aug 2016.

"Clearly he'll be of no help to us in rescuing Gundren," Willow says.

Wester turns to Willow. "What's this? Gundren Rockseeker? 'Rescue' him, you said?" He turns back to Sildar.

"Yes. Gundren Rockseeker and I were traveling here together when we were ambushed by goblins on the Triboar Trail. They took us both prisoner, but I managed to escape with the help of my friends here. Gundren was not so lucky. The goblins took him to their castle in Neverwinter Wood, where they may still be holding him."

Sildar leans forward, placing his hands on the desk. "We must act quickly if we mean to save his life. For this, we'll need all the help we can get. How many men can you spare to assist us in locating the castle to release Gundren from his captivity?"

Wester laughs. "A castle? Full of goblins, in Neverwinter Wood? You've been listening to too many tavern tales, my friend."

He smiles condescendingly. "Besides, it seems you weren't listening to me a moment ago. I have no men to spare, even if there were a real threat. I am but a humble magistrate. But, if you need help with something of a military nature, then it just so happens we have a mercenary company staying here in town. Perhaps you should head over to the Sleeping Giant tavern and enlist their aid?

"Or, if you lack the coin to hire true professionals, then you could always ask the hardy folk of Phandalin for help. But, I'd advise getting a few rounds of ale in them before bringing up the prospect of seeking out a hidden fairy castle in the woods." He snickers.

Sildar draws himself up to his full height. "This is a waste of time," he says.

He gives Wester a long look before speaking again. "Harbin Wester. On the authority of the Lords' Alliance, I hereby relieve you of your position as townmaster of Phandalin. You are a deluded coward and weakling, and are unfit to oversee even a page of this town's records, let alone serve as judge in any of its disputes. I will immediately assume your position myself. You may return to your home and console yourself with yet another meal. Now please hand over all the keys to this hall, as well as any other charge of office that you may possess."

Wester's eyes grow wide as he begins to blubber. "What? How dare you? 'On authority of the Lords' Alliance?' The Lords' Alliance has no authority here! You're just a common criminal! I will not relinquish my position! I live here, this is my home, and you have no idea how to run this town!"

Sildar draws his mace. "This town is in dire need of some law and order. The time for keeping records and resolving petty disputes is over. Your services are no longer required." He points the head of his mace at Wester. "Now. Kindly hand over your keys and anything else I may need, or I will take them by force."

Wester glares in helpless frustration at Sildar, but says nothing as he slowly reaches into his belt pouch to produce an iron keyring. He hands it over.

At last he speaks in a terse tone. "One key unlocks the front door, one unlocks the cells of the jail downstairs, and the last one, the small one..." He hesitates a moment. "...is for the town's coffer, which is also down in the cellar.

"I guess there's no stopping you from raiding it now, but be aware that the money in that coffer belongs to the town, and isn't yours to take. I collect modest taxes from the landowners here to pay for upkeep of the town and occasional security needs. For instance, as you may have noticed on the sign posted outside, there is an orc problem to the east near Wyvern Tor. I've been offering 100 gold pieces to anyone who can clear them out...seeing as that's a real threat to this town, unlike this imaginary 'goblin castle' of yours. But whatever, I guess that's your problem now.

"I can't stop you from appropriating our hard-earned funds for whatever you wish, but just know that your 'Lord's Alliance' masters wouldn't take too kindly to hearing that you stole from the treasury of a humble little village like ours."

"You have nothing to fear. You have my word that I will use the funds in the coffer only in the best interests of the town."

"Your word..." Wester scoffs and shakes his head. "Not that I'm in any position to object. Do as you will."

He nods his head toward the bookshelf behind him. "The record books I keep here in my office. Lanar, the miner, owes the town 10 silver pieces, which he borrowed two tendays ago. You'll have to collect that. The loan term was ten percent every month, so in a tenday it goes up to 11 silver. Hopefully you're capable of handling more sums than the cost of a round of ale in the tavern.

"Now, if there's nothing more you need from me, I'll be taking my leave." He gathers himself up and walks out proudly, holding his head high. As he leaves he slams the front door of the hall behind him. The building settles into silence.
This message was last edited by the player at 20:34, Wed 24 Aug 2016.

Sildar turns to the party. "Okay then. It looks like the Lords' Alliance was right to send Albrek here. Now I've got to pick up where he left off. Obviously I've got my work cut out for me.

"Unfortunately, with everything that needs to be done here in town, my first duty is to fulfill my mission and see to the establishment of order here. So it looks like I may not be able to accompany you to the castle to rescue Gundren. I'm sorry, my friends, I know it looks dire, but we have to do what we can.

"I will use whatever funds are available to me to help you with the rescue effort. Please try to recruit anyone from the town who might be able to help you. The innkeeper's wife suggested talking to some of the locals, but that was for help against the Redbrands, not to march off to a goblin castle in the woods. She also said you'd have to wait around all day for them to return to the inn for their evening drinks. You'll have to decide how long you can afford to wait for the chance of getting help.

"It might also be possible for you to head to the castle now yourselves, and just try a stealthy approach. Goblins are not the keenest of creatures, as you know, and you saw how with some caution we were able to take on the whole nest of them back at that cave. It's risky, for sure, but it might be your best bet to rescue Gundren. Ultimately it's your decision."

"You said you'd use the funds available to you to help us out. Let's be clear; just how much money are we talking about here?"

"That's a fair question." Sildar thinks a moment. "For the good of the town, I will offer you a total of 100 gold pieces if you manage to return with Gundren alive, and 400 additional gold pieces if you bring back proof of the death or defeat of the goblin chieftain of the castle. You can use the promise of that bounty to hire any assistance you may need, or if you feel you can handle it yourselves, then the full payment will be yours to split up among yourselves.

"I will also continue to honor Wester's offer of 100 gold for handling the apparent orc problem at Wyvern Tor, although I imagine that's not something you'll want to think about now.

"More importantly, the town's most pressing problem is that of the Redbrands. I cannot take them on myself, so I will offer a bounty of 200 gold pieces to anyone who manages to fully eliminate them from this town."

"So I'm counting a total of 800 gold for solving all of the town's problems. Sounds good to me. I'm in."

"What about Albrek?"

"Yes, I must find out what happened to him. I will continue questioning the townsfolk today. You are welcome to join me with that, if you wish. I believe we had some Lionshield parcels to return to their trading post here in town?"

"We'll accompany you to the Lionshield store, just to get the crates off the wagon. But after that I think we need to focus on getting Gundren back."

Willow turns to look at Zhaquadan. "You've been pretty quiet through all of this. How do you think we should go about getting our employer back?"
This message was last edited by the player at 17:45, Wed 24 Aug 2016.

"Gundren may already be dead.  Lets wait to get recruits."

"Well, I choose to believe that he is still alive, and we're not risking our lives for nothing. But it's true we're no use to him if we can't handle that castle on our own. Very well then. We'll accompany Sildar on his tour of the town while we wait for folk to return to the tavern."

"Whether he's dead or not, we're risking our lives for a good reason. You heard Sildar, his biggest payout is for killing that goblin chief. So that's what we're going to do."

Willow fixes a cold stare on Rudo. "I'm going to the castle to rescue Gundren. Once we have him safely in hand, then I'm going to leave. If the best way to do that is to sneak in quietly and completely bypass the goblin chief, then so be it. If you want to stick around and fight an entire army of goblins on your own for 400 gold, then by all means, you're welcome to it.

"We'll drink to your memory once we're safely back in the tavern. Only one drink, though."

Rudo smiles. "I'm beginning to like you even more, Kitten. You'll see. Even goblins aren't stupid enough to leave their most valuable prisoner just lying around by the back door for you to 'sneak in' and grab without raising the alarm. We're going to have to kill every hairy goblin in that place to find Gundren. And that means the chief, too.

"Trust me, Kitten. Gundren alive is worth 100 gold. We're finding him, and we're bringing him home. I'm not going to walk out of there without every last copper in my pocket."

"So it's settled then!" Steamknuckle interjects quickly. "Let's be on our way."
This message was last edited by the player at 20:51, Fri 26 Aug 2016.

The party exits the town hall, and waits a minute while Stumpy waddles back to the inn to collect the wagon. He reappears shortly thereafter, driving the wagon toward the large slate-roofed building along the south edge of the town square. The party falls into step as the wagon rolls past.

Stumpy guides his oxen up to the delivery entrance of a small warehouse built into the side of the building. He then dismounts and follows the party around to the front door. Hanging above the door is a sign shaped like a wooden shield with a blue lion painted on it.

Sildar opens the door, and the party enters.
This message was last edited by the GM at 21:50, Sun 28 Aug 2016.

The party finds themselves in a small storefront room, with a few select items, mostly basic supplies, hanging on the walls. Opposite the front door is a small shop counter, and beside that a closed interior door leading back to the main body of the trading post. Behind the counter sits a lean, weathered woman of about thirty-five, with a mop of short brown hair and a tired expression on her face.

"Business at the town hall for Phandalin's latest esteemed guests?" she asks, without any preamble.
This message was last edited by the player at 21:54, Sun 28 Aug 2016.

"Indeed," Sildar responds, following her cue to cut straight to the chase. "I am Sildar Hallwinter, of the Lords' Alliance in Neverwinter. These are my companions. I've relieved Harbin Wester of his duty as townmaster of Phandalin, and assumed his position myself."
This message was last edited by the player at 21:57, Sun 28 Aug 2016.

The woman raises an eyebrow. "I see. I was wondering why I saw him scurrying off in a rage a few minutes ago. No matter. He always was a greedy coward. I suppose it was only a matter of time before someone finally stepped in to oust him. Can't say I'll miss him, and neither will anyone else, as long as you're able to do what he couldn't and get rid of those blasted Redbrands."
This message was last edited by the player at 21:58, Sun 28 Aug 2016.

"We intend to do just that, but first we have more pressing business. I understand this is the office of the Lionshields here in Phandalin?"

"Oh yes, please forgive me," the woman responds. "This is the Lionshield Coster. I am Linene Graywind, the manager here. Normally I supply all the arms and armor for the mining operations here in Phandalin, but lately I've been about as useful as a butterknife on an axe handle, with all the bandit problems we've been having. My last two shipments never arrived, and I'd bet my life the Redbrands had something to do with it.

"As it is, I've got a few things here and there, but not much. What do you need?"

"It's not what we need, it's what we have for you. Our wagon is parked outside with a load of parcels bearing your symbol. Presumably taken from one of these shipments of yours that went missing.

"It wasn't the Redbrands who hijacked this shipment, but a band of Cragmaw goblins. We slew the goblins and recovered your missing goods, and are here now to return them to you."

Linene's face lights up as she absorbs Sildar's good news. "Oh, thank you! Thank you, sir! You've saved me! I've known you a minute, and already you've done more to help me than that fat buffoon Wester has ever done for anyone in this town."

She ushers the party out through the front door and walks with them over to the wagon, where she briefly inspects the Lionshield crates. "Yes indeed, it seems you've recovered my entire last shipment! Goblins, you say? And you killed them all? Wonderful!" She shakes the party's hands all around while personally thanking each adventurer. "Thank you, friends. You're welcome at the Lionshield Coster any time. Please let me know if there's ever anything I can do to help you. And please, let me give you this small token of my appreciation."

Linene leads the party back inside and walks around behind the counter. She reaches down, rummages for a moment, and comes up with a great handful of gold coins, which she places on the counter. "Here. Please take this. 50 gold pieces as payment for returning my cargo and saving my business."
This message was last edited by the player at 23:17, Sun 28 Aug 2016.

Sildar smiles at the party. "That's yours, my friends. Thank you again for saving me. It seems that doing the right thing has paid off yet again for you."

The party looks at each other in pleasant surprise, smiling at their unexpected good fortune.

Steamknuckle then steps up and quickly arranges the gold coins into five equal stacks. He pockets the first of the stacks, then pulls out his quill, ink and ledger book.

As the party members each collect their own share of ten gold pieces, the gnome writes down their earnings in the ledger. Soon all the gold is collected and the ledger book is safely stowed back inside Steamknuckle's pack.
This message was last edited by the GM at 23:56, Sun 28 Aug 2016.

"Now that you've restored a caravan's worth of stock to my shop, is there anything I can get for you? I've got armor, weapons, supplies and gear; anything you need for an expedition into the hills."

OOC: The Lionshield Coster carries a variety of standard non-magical adventuring gear from Chapter 5 of the PHB. Feel free to ask the shopkeeper for anything specific you may want to buy, and she'll let you know if she's got it in stock.

The party looks around at each other for a moment, shaking their heads.

"I think we're good on supplies for the moment," Sildar says. "but perhaps there is a way you can help us. Do you happen to recall a wizard come through town, about two months ago, right before the Redbrands showed up? Name of Iarno Albrek, from Neverwinter. Shorter man, dark hair and beard?"

Linene nods. "Yes, I saw him. Never spoke to him myself, but from here I see everyone who goes in and out of the town hall during work hours. Saw him come down the road from the inn one day, go in and I guess he talked to Wester for a few minutes, then left. Never saw him again. Found out later who he was; small town like this, word travels fast whenever a stranger comes to town. But he was long gone by then."

She pauses a moment, scratching her chin. "If I were you, I'd head a little further down the road past the town hall to the Alderleaf farm. That's where I saw him go after he left, and Qelline later told me he stopped by and spoke to her a little. Acted strange, she said, and neither of us can think of why he would go there after talking to the townmaster, but that's what he did. Strange fellow."

Sildar nods thoughtfully. "Thank you. That's very helpful. Now, what can you tell us about the Redbrands?"

"What's there to say?" Linene shrugs. "Petty thieves and bandits pretending to be mercenaries. No idea why they came here, but gods know it's about time for them to move on. They've been fleecing every business in town, flouting the townmaster's authority for two months now. Wester just turns a blind eye, the useless old pig. They even killed poor Thel Dendrar, or so I heard. And who knows what's become of his poor family? Been gone almost a tenday now. Those bastards." She turns aside and spits.

"They came by here early on, knowing I had the town's only store of weapons and armor. I paid them off to leave me alone, and played dumb about my weapons. It was half true, really, with all the shipments I've lost lately. But what little I do have left I wouldn't sell to them for all the gold in the hills. This town means too much to me. They'd just turn around and make more Thel Dendrars with them, and I won't have that on my conscience."

She sighs. "Everyone's had to pay them off to get them to leave us alone. Everyone except Halia Thornton, of course. They stay away from her at the Miner's Exchange just down the road from here, for gods know what reason. How come? That's what I'd like to know. She's got more money than the rest of us combined."

She pauses a moment, thinking. "Other than that, not much to say. They've pretty much taken over the Sleeping Giant tap house on the east road; nobody else goes there any more. Would have been good for Stonehill, if they weren't stealing whatever profits he might have made from the extra business." She gives Sildar a grave look. "I'd steer clear of that place if I were you. Those thugs are nothing but trouble. I know you've got duties as the new townmaster and all, but there's too many of them for you to take on by yourselves. I'd hire some more muscle before trying to deal with them, if I were you."

After a moment she adds, "Oh yes, I almost forgot. I also heard from Qelline Alderleaf that they had this...bird thing. Like a bird man, a big crow walking on two feet. It had to be one of them since she saw it with them, over there by the woods by her farm, and it was wearing one of their dirty red cloaks, and it could talk. Or at least, it could make talking sounds. It was strange. She said it was just, like, mimicking the voices of the other Redbrands. Nobody else has seen it, but Qelline's not one to lie. I'd keep an eye out for that thing."
This message was last edited by the player at 14:26, Fri 02 Sept 2016.

"Sounds like a Kenku," Sildar responds. "Nasty thieves and beggars. We had a lot of those back in Waterdeep; whole clans of them working together like thieves' guilds to con and rob innocent people. They do have a talent for imitating sounds. They use it to trick people. We had a saying in Waterdeep: 'if you hear a baby crying in an alley, walk the other way.'

"Thanks for the warning. We'll keep an eye out."

Steamknuckle speaks up. "We do have a couple of small items we're looking to liquidate. Perhaps you could appraise them for us?" He produces the small leather pouch taken from the goblin cave and upends it onto the counter, revealing the three gold teeth and jade frog statuette.

"I also happen to be looking for a single pearl of middling size, worth at least 100 gold pieces. Although...I wouldn't possess the funds to pay you for it. I would just appreciate if I could borrow it for a few minutes, to cast a spell."
This message was last edited by the player at 21:03, Fri 09 June 2017.

Linene gives Steamknuckle a curious look. "I do indeed have such a pearl," she replies, "along with a variety of other gemstones of moderate value. And I would be happy to loan it to you, for just a few minutes, although...despite the wonderful service you've already done for me, I hope you won't be too offended if I say I'd rather you do whatever it is you're going to do with it here in my shop, within my sight. A pearl of that value, well, if it's all the same to you I'd rather be sure it remains intact throughout this 'spell' of yours."

"Of course. Not a problem." Steamknuckle turns briefly to the others. "We'll have to go back to the inn a bit later for those potions, then bring them back here so I can use the pearl to identify them."

Linene nods, then looks down at the trinkets on the counter in front of her. "As for these, well, let's see..." She examines each item in turn. "The teeth I'll give you one gold piece each for. The frog, well, that's a little more interesting. I can't say for sure how much it might fetch in a city like Neverwinter, but I'll give you 40 gold for it."

"Hmm, that sounds reasonable to me."

"Me too. We're not likely to find a proper marketplace anytime soon, so there's no sense in holding onto it." Rudo turns to Zhaquadan. "What do you say, 'gold' dwarf? Your kind knows all about appraising trinkets like this, right?"
This message was last edited by the player at 22:38, Fri 11 Aug 2017.

Zhaquadan pauses for a moment considering the frog and then digs through his possessions to produce 40 gold pieces which he places on the counter and takes the frog saying "That seems like a reasonable amount for this, I will exchange the gold for us and hold on to this for myself if nobody objects thank you."  Zhaquadan stares at the frog in his hand for a moment with an odd grin on his face and then proceeds to secure it with the rest of his valuables.  "Are we going to split the 40 gold 6 ways?" Zhaquadan quickly asks.

"No, but thank you. The spoils from the goblin lair belong to the four of you who cleared it out. My reward for that venture is my life."
This message was last edited by the player at 15:58, Thu 27 Oct 2016.

Sildar looks over briefly at Stumpy, who nods in silent agreement.

Steamknuckle then steps up to the counter once more to arrange the gold coins lying there, this time into four equal stacks of ten gold pieces each. The party members each take a stack as Linene collects the three gold teeth off the counter and then reaches down to produce three more gold coins to replace them.

Steamknuckle pulls out his ledger book again. "40 gold four ways is simple, but we'll need some change for these three. Split four ways that's three quarters of a gold each, so if each of you want to take one of the gold and then give me two silver and five copper a piece, that will work."

Steamknuckle dips his quill into his inkpot and begins scribbling in the ledger as Rudo, Willow and Zhaquadan count out the change from their coin purses. Soon all the coins are exchanged and everyone stows their newfound wealth away in their pouches.

"Very well," Sildar says, clasping his hands together. He turns to Linene. "Thank you for your help, madam. Come to me if you need anything. You should be able to find me either at the town hall or Stonehill's inn."

He turns to the party. "Where shall we go next? It seems the Alderleaf farm down the road might be a promising place to learn more of what happened to Albrek. Or we could head the other way down to the Miner's Exchange. Thornton, was her name?"

"Halia Thornton. Smug wench in charge of the Exchange. Got enough gold to buy this whole town, yet for some reason the Redbrands won't go near her. She's hiding something, that one."

"Let's go to the exchange first." Zhaquadan suggests.

"I agree. We go where the money is."

Willow turns away from Rudo, grimacing as she gently shakes her head.

The party bids their farewells to Linene before filing out the front door and into the bright light of the morning. Sildar looks down the narrow dirt road in front of the building until his eyes settle on a tall square building of mortared fieldstone about a hundred feet to the south. A gentle plume of smoke drifts up from the chimney at the center of its pyramid-shaped roof. Easily the largest landmark in the southern section of the town, it seems clear that this must be the Phandalin Miner's Exchange.

Stumpy grunts something about tending to the oxen and turns to hobble back toward the wagon. Sildar utters a brief farewell before turning the other way, striding down the road toward the Miner's Exchange. The rest of the group follows.
This message was last edited by the GM at 20:11, Mon 12 June 2017.

After a brief stroll down the southern road, the party arrives at the square stone building. It looms over the surrounding area at two stories in height with a pointed slate roof. A chiseled wooden sign beside the door reads "Miner's Exchange".

Sildar walks up to the closed door and opens it, stepping inside. The rest of the party files in behind him.

They find themselves in a large, open room, with a wide horseshoe-shaped wooden counter closing off a rectangular space in the middle of the room. In the center of the rear wall stands a great open hearth with a modest fire blazing, its brick chimney rising up into the ceiling above. Along the interior of the counter, as far as the party can see from where they stand, sit row upon row of neat cabinet drawers, each one labeled with a numbered slip of paper. Closed doors just inside the counter seal off the rear of the building on both sides of the hearth.

A small human woman sits on a stool behind the left edge of the counter, hunched over some papers. She looks up briefly as the door opens, then returns to her work.

"Good morning, travelers. What brings you to Phandalin?"

"You must be Halia Thornton. You're in charge of the Miner's Exchange here?"

Halia looks up again. "Indeed. What can I do for you?"

"I am Sildar Hallwinter, of the Lords' Alliance in Neverwinter. I am here to establish order in the name of the Alliance. Harbin Wester will no longer be overseeing local matters in this town."

Halia's face is a carefully composed study of blank canvas. After a moment she says, "I see. I appreciate your coming here to inform me of this." She hesitates a moment. "As the new townmaster, I should...inform you that Wester's position was little more than a formality. His records were mostly related to the contents of his own meager coffers. In the absence of any real local lord or authority, I myself handle the registration of all mining claims in the area. In accordance with Neverwinter law, of course." She gestures toward the closed drawers lining the interior of the counter.

She gives Sildar a shrewd look before continuing. "I suppose this would have something to do with those Redbrand thugs?"

"Certainly. What can you tell me about them?"

A faint smile plays across Halia's face. "Petty mercenaries. Unable to find work elsewhere, I suppose, so they've decided to hole up here for a while. I hear they've caused a bit of trouble so far in town. Have you brought men with you to clear them out?"

"Only those of us you see before you, unfortunately. I was hoping to press some of the townsfolk into service to help secure the town. It seems these Redbrands have done damage to just about everyone in Phandalin, so there should be no shortage of hardy folk willing to join the cause of protecting their homes from these criminals."

Sildar looks Halia squarely in the eye. "I presume you too have felt the weight of their vile extortions?"
This message was last edited by the player at 20:25, Mon 12 June 2017.

Halia pauses a moment before answering. "Of course. But...I suppose you should know that I am affiliated with certain...capital interests abroad. Which the Redbrands somehow knew. When they came by to shake me down, they asked me about this, and at swordpoint I had little choice but to share the details of my private business. After that they seemed content to leave my coin intact, taking only some very sensitive documents which.. well, to be honest, I will be ruined if I cannot recover."

Her expression softens as she looks deep into Sildar's eyes. "You say you represent the Lords' Alliance, sir. Known to be friends to all who love order and abide by the laws of the land. Well, sir, I tell you that I do nothing here but tirelessly work to establish lawful prosperity for all in Phandalin, and these cruel thieves have stolen as much from me as from anyone. Those papers are my lawful property, so I implore you on your good name, should you manage to drive them out and recover my property, please give me your word that they will be returned to me."

"You have it," Sildar replies without hesitation. "On my honor as a soldier and my duty as an agent of the Lords' Alliance."

Halia smiles fully for the first time. "Thank you." She looks over the party with the same grateful expression. "I've been afraid for so long, but it seems this town's prayers may finally have been answered. Thank you so much, friends."

She looks back to Sildar. "I will tell you everything I know. Hopefully some of it may be useful in getting rid of them.

"The Redbrands have taken to loitering around the Sleeping Giant tavern, on the east road approaching the old manor house. That's where you're most likely to find them. However, I believe some of their less savory elements have been staying up in the old manor house itself. In particular, I've heard they have a goblin minion serving them, and possibly also some other monsters. That's also where you're likely to find their leader, the one they call 'Glasstaff'.

"This Glasstaff...when his thugs took my papers, they mentioned he would be pleased with them for recovering them. That tells me he must have already known about my private business interests. I have a suspicion he's been corresponding with some...let's say, less than honest associates of mine. That's something I'd very much like to know about."

Halia gives the party a conspiratorial look. "I'll tell you what. If you manage to eliminate Glasstaff, and bring me my papers along with any other correspondence you find in his quarters, I'll gladly pay you 100 gold pieces from my personal coffers. And not only that, but I strongly suspect that should you manage to do this quietly, I may be able to leverage the information from those letters to coerce the rest of them to leave town quickly and quietly.

"You won't have to risk your lives, and those of the poor townsfolk, taking on a small army all by yourselves. Seems like a much safer way to handle this. And this way we all win."
This message was last edited by the player at 13:36, Tue 13 June 2017.

Sildar pauses for a moment, thinking. He looks to the party. "This is a very interesting turn of events. What do you all think?"

"Our duty is to Gundren. Who knows what those goblins are doing to him, even now? We must find him before it's too late. Then we can deal with these bandits."

"I have a strange feeling this is all connected, though," Steamknuckle muses. "Perhaps if we uncover Glasstaff's secret, then it may give us some kind of leverage to more effectively rescue Gundren." He nods toward Halia. "She mentioned they have a goblin serving with them. That can't be a coincidence.

"And of course, confronting Glasstaff may give us some insight into what happened to Iarno Albrek." Steamknuckle shoots Zhaquadan a knowing look.

"As well as 100 more gold pieces. Count me in. We'll be in and out of that old house with Glasstaff's head in half an hour."

Halia's eyes follow each speaker in turn. "Indeed," she adds after each has spoken. "I have heard persistent rumors of a goblin in their service. And Gundren Rockseeker? Captured by goblins, you say?"

"Unfortunately, yes. We've been torn between finding and rescuing him before it's too late and dealing with this blasted Redbrand menace."

Halia nods sagely. "Seems to me that sneaking in to deal with Glasstaff may be your best bet at the moment. You can't do much else without men, and they're all out in the fields and mines right now. You'd have to wait until sundown for them to march into Stonehill's before you could even start recruiting your army.

"This way you might have those Redbrands packing their bags, and that goblin's secrets in your hands, by lunchtime. Most of the Redbrands would be sleeping off last night's drink right about now anyway. No better time than the present."
This message was last edited by the player at 20:35, Tue 13 June 2017.

"Thank you for your time.   I think we should head back to the inn and maybe pick up those potions for identification" Zhaquadan days giving Steamknuckle a long hard look.

Steamknuckle looks at Zhaquadan, then looks away, puzzled. He scratches his chin thoughtfully for a moment.

"You heard the woman, Mudskipper. Time is wasting. They're all passed out drunk right now, but it's getting late. We should strike now!"

"Yes, yes," Steamknuckle interjects quickly. "But Zhaquadan is right. Let's return to the inn to discuss our next move. It won't take long. Those potions may be helpful in infiltrating the manor house anyway."

Rudo grunts. "Fine. But you'd better be quick about it, gnome. Every second you waste pushes that 100 gold a little further away from my purse."

Sildar seems uncertain, but maintains his composure. He nods politely at Halia. "Thank you for your time and information, madam. I will keep you informed about the situation."

Halia gives the barest nod of acknowledgement, her face once again blank except for her tiny polite smile.

Sildar turns to leave, and the party follows. Soon they are out in the road, walking back toward the inn.

Zhaquadan stops after putting some distance between himself and the exchange and says "I don't trust her.   There has to be more to her connection with these brigands and this wizard than she is willing to say.  I believe it is very important that we examine these documents she is "missing" but I don't think we should let her know that is where we are going.   I also think we should stop by the Alderleaf place before we leave.   I wonder if we should go so far as to have someone watch the miners exchange until we head out to be sure Halia does not warn the Redbrands that we are coming.   What do you guys think? "
This message was last edited by the player at 12:36, Wed 14 June 2017.

Steamknuckle nods. "I see. Yes. She did seem to...I suppose, change her demeanor a bit too much in that conversation to carry the ring of truth." He scratches his beard thoughtfully.

Willow nods in agreement. "Perhaps you noticed, as I did, how she seemed at first to be just taking the measure of Sildar, not distressed at all really about the Redbrands, until finally she decided to change course to suddenly seem harried and frightened like the rest of the village to appeal to his honor."

Sildar's face is grave. "I'm ashamed to admit I hadn't noticed these things. I was too focused on my duty, despite Linene Graywind's warnings. Thank you, friends. These are concerning details indeed."

"Wait just a moment now," Rudo interjects. "Let's not get too carried away here. So she's got some secrets. Who cares? Everyone with money has a few skeletons in the closet. She's offering us a hundred gold to take care of a legitimate town problem. Her argument makes sense, too. If she gets what she wants and saves us the trouble of having to carve up the whole legion of red-cloaked buffoons, then that's a win for everyone, isn't it?"

Rudo turns to Sildar. "I mean, you're here for the people, right? Why worry about some evasive wench's motives? If it's the best move for the town, then take it. Do you think she's leading us into a trap?"

"Yes, you idiot."

Rudo smiles at Willow. "I don't think so, Kitten. Her request was way too specific for that. If she wanted to lead us into a trap, then she would have given us a sob story about her children being kidnapped, or something like that. Like that hapless woodcarver they killed. Something that would have pulled the right strings to get us running over there in a blind rush.

"No. She asked for papers of a business nature, and suggested we do it quietly. That's not how you lead someone into a trap. She really does need those papers back, and we just happen to be the meal ticket she was waiting for. So what if those papers contain the details of her master plan to enslave the town? They're rightfully hers, and she's paying us a hundred gold to get them back.

"Sounds like honest work to me."

Sildar turns to Zhaquadan. "So you still think we should do as she requests, but we should examine the papers ourselves before handing them over to her? Or are you worried that even investigating the manor house will be a trap?"

"Both.  We should go but proceed with caution.   Someone should stay here to discreetly watch her to see if she does anything that may be a communication to the Redbrands while the rest of us go to the Alderleaf place to see what she can tell us.  Then meet back here to decide our next course of action.   That is my suggestion. "

"Very well. Let's return to the Lionshield Coster and have Stumpy keep an eye on the Exchange building from Linene's window. He should be able to see any comings and goings from there."
This message was last edited by the player at 23:14, Wed 14 June 2017.

The party turns and walks back up the road toward the Lionshield Coster. As they approach they see Stumpy crouched in the bed of the wagon, handing the last of the Lionshield crates down to Linene Graywind as she lugs them in through the open warehouse doors. Sildar approaches and converses briefly with the two of them. After a moment, Linene nods and then leads Stumpy through the shadows of the warehouse doors and into the building proper.

Sildar returns to the group and leads them along the town's southeastern road, past the imposing town hall building. They pass a few modest houses on the left and one small farmhouse on the right, where Sildar speaks briefly with the farmer toiling in the back field, an old man named Narth. He points to the larger field off to the east, and the party continues down the road.

At its end they arrive at a meager thatch-roofed farmhouse surrounded by a couple of small sheds. Walking behind the house, the party comes to a wide field sloping down the hill to the southeast, extending through a gap in the town's ancient stone wall. A small, weathered halfling woman kneels about 30 feet away, pushing corn seeds down into the soil. A small halfling boy stands beside her holding the seed bag.

Sildar approaches the halfling woman and bows politely. "Good day, madam. Please forgive us for intruding on your work. I am Sildar Hallwinter, of the Lords' Alliance in Neverwinter. I have come to relieve Townmaster Wester of his duty, and will be assuming his role in Phandalin from now on.

"These are my friends. We are here to help with the Redbrand problem."

The halfling woman stands, eyeing Sildar with curiosity. "Well met, sir. I am Qelline Alderleaf. This is my son, Carp."

The halfling boy stands slightly behind his mother and waves shyly up at Sildar's towering frame.

"Well met indeed," Sildar replies, nodding alternately at Qelline and Carp. He turns to the woman. "We are here because Linene Graywind informed us that you may have spoken with my associate, Iarno Albrek, when he came through here about two months ago."
This message was last edited by the player at 22:41, Wed 14 June 2017.

"Oh yes, the wizard. Hard to forget a man like him. He stopped by here and asked me about Tresendar Manor." Qelline turns and looks up the hill to the northeast, where the crumbling manor house sits perched atop the heights. "He never said why he was interested, but I told him what I know. The manor was once the home of the Tresendar family, human lords from Neverwinter who ruled this area long ago. It was abandoned along with the rest of the town centuries ago, and I suppose no one ever had the means to restore it after Phandalin was resettled.

"Nothing much to see up there any more. Just the ruins of an old castle. It was picked clean by orc raiders hundreds of years ago, so there's nothing left to find there.

"Anyway, your friend seemed satisfied with that answer, then left to check out the woods over there at the base of the hill. None of us ever saw him again."
This message was last edited by the player at 22:42, Wed 14 June 2017.

Carp squirms nervously beside his mother, tugging at her sleeve.

Qelline looks down at Carp, then back up to Sildar. "Oh yes. I suppose you would want to know...my son found something over there. About a tenday or two ago. Long after your friend came through."

She looks back down at her son. "Carp, tell the gentleman what you saw."
This message was last edited by the player at 17:24, Fri 13 Sept 2019.

Carp pauses a moment before speaking hesitantly. "Yes, sir. Well, I was over in the woods, working on my swordplay. You see, I'm going to be a great adventurer, like you, when I grow up. So I need to practice." He shrugs off a look of disdain from his mother. "So I was in the woods, fighting the trees - you see, I pretend they're monsters so I can have something to fight against, and I dodge and run past them, and then run up and stab them when I see an opening, like a proper fighter..."

"Hush that silliness now, and tell the man what you saw!"

"Okay!" Carp glares at his mother before continuing. "Well, sometimes I get pretty deep in the woods, since I'm dodging and fighting so many monsters at once. There's a cliff there, at the bottom of the hill where the castle is. I guess I never went up that close, since the bushes are really thick there. But this time I heard something. So I hid behind some trees and looked out, and there in the rocks was this dark tunnel, that looked like it went deep inside the hill, and it was hidden by all the briars and trees so I had never seen it before.

"And at the opening of the tunnel there were a couple of those Redbrands - I could tell from the dirty red cloaks they all wear - and then a couple of big, ugly bandits came out from the tunnel and talked for a while with the Redbrands. They were all hairy and way bigger than the Redbrands. I watched them for a while, but I couldn't hear what they were saying. Sorry."

"And you're sure they didn't see you?"

"No, sir. I was quiet as a mouse. But it was pretty close. I guess maybe I got lucky they didn't walk over where I was hiding."

"Well done, son." Sildar leans over to pat the boy on the shoulder. "Great job. Can you tell me now what happened after these bandits met at the tunnel? Where did they go?"

"Well, the big hairy bandits went back inside the tunnel, and then the Redbrands left. Back to the town, I guess. I didn't really see where they went, I just stayed still and quiet until I couldn't hear them anymore."

"Very good, Carp. You did a great job. I'm so proud of you." Qelline reaches down to hug her son.

She looks back up to Sildar. "I didn't even know about all of this myself, sir. All he told me before was he found a cave in the woods, and some Redbrands nearby. I had no idea about the other...things. Or how dangerous it was." She pulls Carp tightly against her.
This message was last edited by the player at 23:24, Wed 14 June 2017.

"Could you show us where this tunnel is now?"

"I could, yes sir."

"Or he could just tell you where to find it. If it's all the same to you, I'd rather he didn't go back anywhere near that tunnel again."

"It's all right. We can find it on our own. He said it's dug into the cliff wall. Can't be too hard to find."

Excellent.  Thank you Carp, you will be a great adventurer one day I'm sure.  This may be just what we needed.   Should we go back for Stumpys report or continue on without him?"

"Well, if we were to go on as you say, what should our next course of action be? To seek out this tunnel in the hill, or climb up to the manor house itself? Who's to say where we would find this 'Glasstaff?'

"I'm of the mind that we should at least return to hear Stumpy's report before doing anything else. But from there, we should be in agreement about where to go next."

"If we head up to the manor house, we'll probably be seen. There isn't an easy concealed route to the top of that hill. But the tunnel...seems like we've been given a gift there. Obviously they're connected. That's our best bet to get in and out unseen."

"I hate to agree with Rudo, but he has a point. If they have a secret exit, then that's our best option to do this quietly."

"Or, it could just be the entrance to their totally unconnected pet monster lair," Steamknuckle chimes in.

"Either way the cave seems like the best place to start.   Let's see what Stumpy has to say. "

"Before you go, there's something else. I almost forgot...how could I have forgotten? Last tenday Carp and I were working in the field when we saw some Redbrands coming out of the woods. I guess they must have been coming from that tunnel.

"I don't know anything about those hairy things Carp saw, but this I saw with my own eyes. They had this...bird-man thing with them. It was wearing one of their red cloaks, but it had the head of a giant crow. It was strange.

"They were talking to it, and it was answering, but not really talking itself. It was more like...mimicking them. Speaking back to them in their own voices. Like some kind of strange pet.

"I think they must have caught us watching them, since they stopped talking all of a sudden and the crow thing just disappeared back into the woods. The rest of them hurried up the hill and back into town. That was the only time we saw it.

"I got an odd feeling from that thing. I'm worried if you go into that cave, you'll probably run into it down there. Just keep your eyes open."
This message was last edited by the player at 17:28, Fri 13 Sept 2019.

"Thank you. We heard the same from Linene Graywind. It's called a Kenku. I've dealt with their kind many times back in Waterdeep. Not to fear, they're all cowards and weaklings, and no match for us. I suppose it's no surprise to find one in the service of such a contemptible pack of outlaws."

Sildar bows politely once more. "Thank you again for all your help, Miss Alderleaf. Should you need anything, please do not hesitate to come to me."

Qelline bids the party a polite farewell as they head back up to the road. Walking back toward the Lionshield Coster, the group glimpses Harbin Wester's scowling face framed in the window of one of the finer-looking houses on the north side of the road. Sildar waves politely as they pass by, and Wester's face quickly disappears behind the curtain.

Soon the party arrives back in Linene's storefront room. Stumpy hobbles over from a side window from which a clear vantage of the Miner's Exchange building can be seen.

"One miner came up the south road, pulling a cart," Stumpy grunts in his rumbling voice. "Stocky, dirty-looking, black chinstrap beard. Went into the Exchange with a load of ore, came out a few minutes later with his bags empty. Looked like an honest miner collecting his pay. Left the same way he came. No one else."

"Maybe an honest miner, or maybe an informant in disguise. Who would ever suspect a 'miner' coming in and out of the Miner's Exchange?"

Rudo shakes his head wearily. "Listen to yourself, grandpa..."

"He left just a few minutes ago. Couldn't have gone far. You could catch him easy, if you wanted to."

"Let's question this miner and then head for the cave."

"Really? We're wasting time! Are we going to question every bloody miner who comes walking up that road? Because I promise you every one of them will be heading to that Exchange!"

"Calm down!" Willow snaps. "You'll get your money one way or the other. We're just not taking any chances."

Sildar ignores the argument, turning to Stumpy. "Good work, my friend. Stay here and keep an eye on that door. We'll be back shortly."
This message was last edited by the player at 18:33, Thu 15 June 2017.

The party exits the Lionshield storefront in a hurry. Rudo grumbles in resignation but follows. Together they rush down the road, past the Miner's Exchange.

In just a few moments they come upon a haggard-looking man, wearing dusty clothes and lugging an empty handcart behind him.
This message was last edited by the GM at 18:37, Thu 15 June 2017.

The man looks up from his weary trudge in surprise as the party passes and surrounds him. "Wha-what's this? What do you want?"

"I am Sildar Hallwinter. I am the new townmaster of Phandalin. Please forgive me, but I must ask who you are and what your business was with Halia Thornton in the Miner's Exchange."
This message was last edited by the player at 18:40, Thu 15 June 2017.

The man appears completely shocked. It takes him a few moments to gather himself and reply. "I...I am Lanar. I'm just a simple miner. I was just bringing in my latest load to sell. It's...it's my livelihood."

"She didn't...tell you anything? Ask you to relay a message, or anything of that nature?"

"No! I don't know what in the nine hells you're talking about!"

Steamknuckle turns to Sildar. "Of course he would say that. We can't trust a word he says."

Rudo rolls his eyes. "Yes, he would say that. Since it's true! Look at him. Some shadowy spy he is. Gods, what a bunch of doddering fools you all are."

He turns to Zhaquadan. "You're the one who wanted to question him. Go on. Ask your questions."

"What do you know about these Redbrands?"

Lanar looks puzzled. "Redbrands? Nothing. I suppose they've been causing some trouble for the good shopkeepers of Phandalin, but for the most part they leave us miners alone. Used to drink at the Sleeping Giant every now and then, but now I can't. They made it pretty clear they want that place for themselves.

"Other than that, nothing. What's this got to do with my business at the Exchange?"

"What do know about Halia Thornton?"

"Halia? She's the one who pays me. Marks down my claims so no one can steal them, then pays a fair price for any ore I dig up. Well, I guess it depends on your meaning of 'fair.' But she pays better than some; good enough not to drive us all off, at least.

"What, is she wanted for crimes back in Neverwinter or something? She always seemed on the level to me."

"We are just curious as to why she has not suffered as much as the rest of Phandalin at the hands of these Redbrands.  She seems to have undisclosed connections that concern us.  Have you seen a wizard type around here lately or anything suspicious? "

"Who knows?" Lanar shrugs. "Maybe she paid them off same as everyone else, just didn't go around bitching and moaning about it. Maybe she's got enough gold to afford it. I wouldn't know. Ask her.

"As for the wizard, sure, I heard about him. Couple of months ago the whole town was talking about him. Never saw him myself. Word is he stopped in, asked a few questions, then disappeared. If you ask me, he took one look at this shitter of a town and decided he was too fancy for the likes of us. Good riddance." He turns and spits.

"This is getting ridiculous," Rudo grumbles. "He's a simple miner. He doesn't know anything.

"So she's a shady liar. Deal with it. So's every other woman in the world. Just because you don't trust the woman doesn't mean every swinging dick that comes through her door with ore to sell is some kind of bandit informant.

"Leave him be. Every minute we waste, another one of those drunken Redbrands wakes up. We're losing our edge!"

"One more thing.   Do you know the Rockseekers and where they have been working lately?   Have you heard of any big claims being found or mined lately? "

"Ah, yes, the Rockseekers. Those lucky bastards." Lanar smiles bitterly. "We're all out here scraping by on whatever the hills have to give us, but let's be honest. The reason we're up here in this frozen hell rather than down south in Amn somewhere is because of that bloody Wave Echo Cave. So yes. Thank you for bringing it up. Of course I know them. They're the whole reason my life up here is a waste."

Lanar looks around at the party. "But what's all this got to do with me? Who are you people?"

Before anyone can answer, he turns to Sildar. "You say you're the new townmaster? And seems you mean to make a move on the Redbrands? Well good for you. More'n fat Wester ever did. But let me tell you," and he nods at Rudo in agreement, "if you're gonna harass every poor miner who comes and goes from the Exchange, then why not do something to actually help us out? The Redbrands aren't the problem. It's them bloody orcs.

"Their raiders have been seen on the east end of Triboar Trail. You know what they do to miners they find alone in the hills? Old Wester knew. He was looking for someone to run them off. Take it that's not a priority no more? Well let me tell you, try sleeping out there in the cold with nothing but a campfire to protect you, instead of here in town in your warm beds behind stone walls. Then tell me who you're more afraid of - some sniveling brat in a red cloak, or a real man-eating orc out there prowling the wild with no law to be found to put a stop to him?"

"I understand." Sildar looks almost apologetic. "I assure you, these threats to the community will not go ignored. And you will soon learn how much further the vigilance of the Lords' Alliance will go toward stamping out these vermin than anything Harbin Wester ever did for this town.

"But for now, the immediate threat to Phandalin is the Redbrands. They will be dealt with swiftly and thoroughly. Then we will turn to the orc problem."

Lanar snorts, apparently unconvinced. He says nothing.

"Okay then, are we done here?" Rudo turns to Zhaquadan. "Any more questions? Or perhaps another errand to waste some more time before finally getting around to the task at hand? Return to the inn to collect those potions, perhaps, then walk them all the way back down to Linene to borrow her pearl and wait nine years for grandpa to cast his mumbo jumbo to guess what they do?"

Rudo shakes his head impatiently. "By Clangeddin's beard, at this rate it'll be nightfall before we actually get around to killing anyone."
This message was last edited by the player at 06:38, Sat 17 June 2017.

Ignoring Rudo Zhaquadan says "thank you Lanar, I apologize for wasting your time.   I promise you we will set things right around here.   Take this for your troubles and be blessed today. "  Zhaquadan looks through his pouch for 5 gold and presents it to Lanar with a smile.
This message was last edited by the player at 16:49, Sat 17 June 2017.

Lanar gapes. "Five gold? Really?" The rough edges of his demeanor melt away as he hefts the coins, feeling their weight, biting one and confirming from the mark left behind that the coins are indeed pure soft gold.

He looks back up at Zhaquadan. "Well I'll be damned. If this is how you compensate a man for holding him up and wasting his time, then by all means, harass me any time you like." He examines the coins once more, smiling. "With this I can clear my debt to old Wester and still have enough left over to live like a king for weeks."

Suddenly he looks up at Sildar. "Wait a minute. You said you're the new townmaster? Meaning Wester's out of a job? I don't suppose he's taken all his old books with him too?"

"Don't press your luck, my friend. Say what you will about Harbin Wester, but the man kept careful records.

"Right before he relinquished his office, he said you owed the town ten silver. Seems like no better time than the present to settle that debt." Sildar holds his hand out to Lanar, palm up.

Lanar gives a resigned smirk as he reaches out to place one of the five gold coins in Sildar's outstretched palm.

"Okay then. If old Mudskipper here would also like to pay the rest of us so generously for our time, then by all means, let's keep standing around in the road scratching our balls. Otherwise, can we please finally get moving? My beard is turning gray!"

"Oh, give it a rest, you buffoon," Steamknuckle sighs. "If it weren't for wiser heads prevailing then you'd probably be dead by now. Just try to keep it to yourself and be patient for once."
This message was last edited by the player at 18:56, Sun 18 June 2017.

Rudo bellows with laughter as he turns to head back up the road into Phandalin proper.

"Thank you Lanar.  I wish you good luck in all your endeavors." Turning to Steamknuckle Zhaquadan asks "old friend,  do you think it would be worth while to identify those potions?  We may need extra restoratives for whatever lies ahead. Otherwise we have spent enough time here. "
This message was last edited by the player at 19:10, Sun 18 June 2017.

"I do. By all means, let's head back to the inn to pick them up." Steamknuckle smiles smugly at Rudo as the party falls into step back toward town.

The party walks back up the dirt road into Phandalin. Passing the Miner's Exchange once more, they find the door closed with no sign of new visitors in the few minutes since they last passed. Soon they return to the Lionshield Coster, where Stumpy confirms seeing no activity since Lanar exited the Exchange. He resumes tending to the oxen as the rest of the group heads back up the road toward the Stonehill Inn.

The party is just rounding the corner from the town square when they hear the bark of a gravelly voice off to the right.

"Time for you to move on, strangers." The party looks over to see four men detach themselves from the wall of the house directly opposite the inn's front door. They all wear grimy red cloaks, hands resting on sword hilts as they watch the group. Their leader, a wide man with a thick graying beard, spits on the ground. "Give us your stuff, and be on your way."

Rudo emits a short mocking laugh. "I'd say I told you so, but I'm already starting to bore myself."

He grins as he begins to unsling his massive greataxe from his back.

Zhaquadan prepared his warhammer for battle.

A hard glint flashes in Sildar's eyes. "You want our stuff, do you? Well come and get it." He draws his mace and unslings his salvaged goblin shield.

OOC: Combat ensues! Initiative order:

Initiative Roll	Character
18	Rudo
17	Redbrands
12	Sildar
10	Willow
10	Peas
8	Zhaquadan
3	Steamknuckle

This message was last edited by the player at 05:37, Mon 19 June 2017.

As the thugs begin to assume their practiced postures of intimidation, Rudo senses their confusion at encountering far more resistance than they likely expected. He capitalizes on this confusion by suddenly lunging at their leader with his axe.

Quicker than lightning, Rudo almost catches the bandit off-guard - but the heavy axe is just a bit too slow. The man leans back out of the way, eyes tracking the head of the axe as it passes harmlessly in front of his face in a whistling arc.

Rudo snarls in rage.

OOC: Melee attack with greataxe.
22:49, Today: Rudo rolled 9 using 1d20+5 with rolls of 4.  Greataxe attack.
This message was last edited by the player at 05:21, Tue 20 June 2017.

The bandits react immediately to Rudo's attack. Their discipline is startling as shortswords appear instantly in each man's hand and they descend upon the party in practiced concert.

The bearded leader quickly counterattacks Rudo with a savage thrust of his sword. He draws it back, dripping blood, and thrusts again, but Rudo manages to dodge the second attack. The dwarf howls with bestial fury as droplets of blood scatter down the front of his chain hauberk.

Another red-cloaked ruffian steps up and drives his shortsword into an opening in Rudo's defense. The dwarf is ready this time, though, and deftly knocks the blade aside with a jerk of his axe haft. The bandit presses his attack and succeeds only in overextending himself as Rudo herds the hapless bandit directly into the midst of the party with a nimble sidestep.

Meanwhile, a third bandit throws himself at Sildar, feinting and then thrusting madly. He manages to catch the old man off guard as Sildar fumbles with setting up his shield. A moment later Sildar recovers his balance, pushing the bandit aside with a rough shove, but then looks down to see red stains seeping across his tunic from two wide gashes in his chest.

The final bandit rushes toward Zhaquadan. He swings his weapon low, catching the dwarf across the upper thigh a fraction of a second before the cleric's wave-emblazoned shield comes jarringly down to knock the attacker's forearm aside. The bandit winces in pain before dancing back in to throw a halfhearted second thrust, which Zhaquadan easily brushes aside. The bandit then backs off a bit, circling to watch for another opening. A warm sensation begins to spread down Zhaquadan's leg.

OOC: Melee attack with shortsword on Rudo.
23:12, Today: Wizzrobe, for the NPC Redbrand Ruffian, rolled 18 using 1d20+4 with rolls of 14.  Shortsword attack.
23:13, Today: Wizzrobe, for the NPC Redbrand Ruffian, rolled 4 using 1d6+2 with rolls of 2.  Shortsword damage (piercing).
23:19, Today: Wizzrobe, for the NPC Redbrand Ruffian, rolled 7 using 1d20+4 with rolls of 3.  Shortsword attack.

Melee attack with shortsword on Rudo.
23:30, Today: Wizzrobe, for the NPC Redbrand Ruffian, rolled 7 using 1d20+4 with rolls of 3.  Shortsword attack.
23:32, Today: Wizzrobe, for the NPC Redbrand Ruffian, rolled 6 using 1d20+4 with rolls of 2.  Shortsword attack.

Melee attack with shortsword on Sildar.
23:42, Today: Wizzrobe, for the NPC Redbrand Ruffian, rolled 21 using 1d20+4 with rolls of 17.  Shortsword attack.
23:44, Today: Wizzrobe, for the NPC Redbrand Ruffian, rolled 5 using 1d6+2 with rolls of 3.  Shortsword damage  (piercing).
23:46, Today: Wizzrobe, for the NPC Redbrand Ruffian, rolled 18 using 1d20+4 with rolls of 14.  Shortsword attack.
23:47, Today: Wizzrobe, for the NPC Redbrand Ruffian, rolled 4 using 1d6+2 with rolls of 2.  Shortsword damage  (piercing).

Melee attack with shortsword on Zhaquadan.
23:59, Today: Wizzrobe, for the NPC Redbrand Ruffian, rolled 21 using 1d20+4 with rolls of 17.  Shortsword attack.
00:00, Today: Wizzrobe, for the NPC Redbrand Ruffian, rolled 5 using 1d6+2 with rolls of 3.  Shortsword damage  (piercing).
00:00, Today: Wizzrobe, for the NPC Redbrand Ruffian, rolled 9 using 1d20+4 with rolls of 5.  Shortsword attack.

Sildar quickly regains his composure to hurl a savage attack at the bandit who just wounded him. After a flurry of connecting blows, the bandit staggers backward, blood streaming from his arms and face. Sildar then backs off a bit, breathing hard.

The two battered opponents regard each other with cold brutality as each searches for a new opening to strike.

OOC: Melee attack with mace.
00:20, Today: Sildar rolled 14 using 1d20+3 with rolls of 11.  Mace attack.
00:21, Today: Sildar rolled 4 using 1d6+1 with rolls of 3.  Mace damage (bludgeoning).
00:22, Today: Sildar rolled 23 using 1d20+3 with rolls of 20.  Mace attack.
00:23, Today: Sildar rolled 4 using 2d6+1 with rolls of 1,2.  Mace damage (bludgeoning), rolled twice due to critical hit.

Surprised by the sudden escalation in hostility, Willow wastes precious seconds fumbling for her weapons. She finally manages to draw both of her shortswords and ready herself for attack, swinging at the staggering bandit exposed by Rudo's sidestep.

The delay throws her off and she stumbles, missing wildly and sprawling into the dirt.

OOC: Melee attack with dual shortswords.
00:51, Today: Willow rolled 6 using 1d20+5 with rolls of 1.  Shortsword attack.
00:51, Today: Willow rolled 7 using 1d20+5 with rolls of 2.  Shortsword attack.

Peas the owl lets out a small, high-pitched screech as she darts off Steamknuckle's shoulder and into the face of the bearded bandit leader, fluttering and clawing at his eyes. In an instant she's gone, swooping away as the bandit swipes madly after her. Droplets of blood spatter from tiny cuts across his forehead.

OOC: Flying to the Redbrand leader, performing the Help action, then flying away.
The Help action (PHB p.192) is targeted at assisting Rudo's next attack.
This message was last edited by the GM at 19:12, Mon 19 June 2017.

Zhaquadan grunts as he swings his warhammer at the bandit engaged with him.


OOC: Melee attack with 1H warhammer.
16:53, Today: Zhaquadan Mudsmither rolled 13 using 1d20+4 with rolls of 9.  Attempt to hit bandit.
16:55, Today: Zhaquadan Mudsmither rolled 4 using 1d8+2 with rolls of 2.  1H warhammer damage (bludgeoning).
This message was last edited by the player at 23:03, Mon 19 June 2017.

Zhaquadan's warhammer collides heavily with his target's thick studded leather armor, but the bandit manages to twist just enough to shrug it off without taking any real damage. The head of the hammer slides against the armor's metal studs and into empty air with a hollow scraping sound.

Steamknuckle fidgets and paces at the edge of the melee, apparently struggling with the decision of how best to contribute to the battle. Several times he looks at one of the bandits, reaches out to cast a spell, then mutters and shakes his head as he decides against it. His tension and anxiety mount with each bloody blow dealt by the ruffians.

Finally the gnome stomps his foot, rolls up his sleeves, and extends his hands toward the center of the melee in a desperate act of sorcery. An instant later the bandit engaged with Sildar crumples to the ground in an unconscious heap.

At the same moment a great weight seems to settle upon Zhaquadan, and the world seems to darken and swim around him. He sways a bit on his feet, struggling to remain conscious. It takes all his concentration to stay on his feet, but through sheer willpower the dwarf manages to push through the malaise and shake it off.

The rest of the bandits look around for a moment, startled, but otherwise appear unaffected by the magic. They recover quickly and soon blades are once again singing through the still morning air. Steamknuckle scoffs in disbelief.

OOC: Casting Sleep, centered on the ongoing melee.
17:01, Today: Steamknuckle rolled 16 using 5d8 with rolls of 1,5,2,2,6.  Total HP affected by Sleep spell.

Rudo heaves his axe once again at the bandit leader with a vicious swing. Distracted slightly by the sensation of Steamknuckle's spell, the bandit's guard drops for just a moment. In that moment the head of the axe slams into his chest, sending him sprawling backward, arms wheeling desperately to maintain balance.

The bandit's body cuffs heavily into that of the ruffian engaged with Zhaquadan, and the two spin apart for a moment in a frantic effort to stay on their feet. Both manage to do so, but the leader wheezes, crouching slightly and clutching at the terrible gash in his studded leather jerkin. Dark red blood flows out through his fingers to drip onto the ground in front of him.

Rudo bellows with bloodthirsty delight.

OOC: Melee attack with greataxe.
17:18, Today: Rudo rolled 25 using 2d20+5, dropping the lowest dice only with rolls of 20,10.  Greataxe attack, with advantage due to Peas' distraction.
17:19, Today: Rudo rolled 11 using 2d12+3 with rolls of 7,1.  Greataxe damage (slashing), rolled twice due to critical hit.
17:31, Today: Rudo rolled 5 using 1d12 with rolls of 5.  Greataxe damage die re-roll due to Fighter "Great Weapon Fighting" class ability.
This message was last edited by the player at 01:14, Tue 20 June 2017.

The bandit leader grits his teeth and lurches forward once again, sword in hand. Blood pours from the open wound in his chest. He thrusts at Rudo with a breathless grunt, but in his weakened state, the dwarf easily parries his every blow.

The next bandit, recovered from his collision with the leader, turns from Zhaquadan to attack Rudo from a flanking position. But Rudo is in a full frenzy now, and grins with relentless vigor as he rebuffs the next would-be attacker's assault just as easily as the first. The dwarf's mouth erupts with booming laughter as he stands against the tide of blades like an ancient oak among green saplings.

The third bandit, still caught in the midst of the party, whirls to capitalize on Willow's fumbling misstep. He drives the point of his shortsword down toward her exposed back, and she cries out in pain as it sinks into the soft leather of her armor. She scrambles to roll away from the bandit as he raises his sword for another strike, but the weight of his knee pins her down and she cannot escape. Her cry rings out again as the blade bites into her side.

From far behind the inn the sound of slamming wood mingles with ferocious, slavering barks as Burgess the mastiff strains madly against the door of his stable pen.

The final bandit remains in a motionless heap on the ground, slumbering like a baby.

OOC: Melee attack with shortsword on Rudo.
17:38, Today: Wizzrobe, for the NPC Redbrand Ruffian, rolled 13 using 1d20+4 with rolls of 9.  Shortsword attack.
17:39, Today: Wizzrobe, for the NPC Redbrand Ruffian, rolled 9 using 1d20+4 with rolls of 5.  Shortsword attack.

Melee attack with shortsword on Rudo.
17:44, Today: Wizzrobe, for the NPC Redbrand Ruffian, rolled 10 using 1d20+4 with rolls of 6.  Shortsword attack.
17:44, Today: Wizzrobe, for the NPC Redbrand Ruffian, rolled 10 using 1d20+4 with rolls of 6.  Shortsword attack.

Melee attack with shortsword on Willow.
17:51, Today: Wizzrobe, for the NPC Redbrand Ruffian, rolled 20 using 1d20+4 with rolls of 16.  Shortsword attack.
17:52, Today: Wizzrobe, for the NPC Redbrand Ruffian, rolled 4 using 1d6+2 with rolls of 2.  Shortsword damage (piercing).
17:56, Today: Wizzrobe, for the NPC Redbrand Ruffian, rolled 16 using 1d12+4 with rolls of 12.  Shortsword attack.
17:57, Today: Wizzrobe, for the NPC Redbrand Ruffian, rolled 5 using 1d6+2 with rolls of 3.  Shortsword damage (piercing).
This message was last edited by the GM at 05:18, Tue 20 June 2017.

Sildar steps over the prone form of the sleeping bandit, advancing quickly toward the one assailing Willow on the ground. He swings his mace savagely and bashes the ruffian solidly in the upper arm, driving him up off the wounded halfling to scramble away in self-defense.

Sildar presses the attack, bringing his mace down in a mighty crash that hurls the bandit's parrying shortsword blade aside. The spikes of his mace catch the retreating man's face to pulp his upper lip with a fine spray of gore.

The bandit screams, bringing his free hand up to clutch at the ground sausage of his lip as he stumbles backward in a crazed panic.

OOC: Melee attack with mace.
21:09, Today: Sildar rolled 21 using 1d20+3 with rolls of 18.  Mace attack.
21:10, Today: Sildar rolled 5 using 1d6+1 with rolls of 4.  Mace damage (bludgeoning).
21:11, Today: Sildar rolled 14 using 1d20+3 with rolls of 11.  Mace attack.
21:11, Today: Sildar rolled 6 using 1d6+1 with rolls of 5.  Mace damage  (bludgeoning).
This message was last edited by the player at 19:00, Wed 21 June 2017.

Grunting with pain, blood trickling from her wounds, Willow clutches her dual shortswords and clambers to her feet with a mighty effort. Then she lets out a scream of rage as she leaps toward the retreating bandit, thrusting her sword up into his neck in a vengeful blur. The bandit drops in a choking fountain of blood and gurgled screams.

Unsatisfied, Willow turns, takes a few steps, and swings her off-hand weapon wildly at the bandit leader with the last of her adrenaline-fueled momentum. The blade catches his belly in a clean line just above his belt. He falls to his knees, clutching his abdomen as slick red intestines cascade down over his hands to spill onto the ground. He keels over, groaning, and dies.

OOC: Melee attack with main-hand shortsword.
21:34, Today: Willow rolled 25 using 1d20+5 with rolls of 20.  Shortsword attack.
21:35, Today: Willow rolled 14 using 2d6+3 with rolls of 6,5.  Shortsword damage  (piercing), rolled twice due to critical hit.

Melee attack with off-hand shortsword.
21:46, Today: Willow rolled 18 using 1d20+5 with rolls of 13.  Shortsword attack.
21:48, Today: Willow rolled 5 using 1d6 with rolls of 5.  Shortsword damage (piercing).
This message was last edited by the player at 19:01, Wed 21 June 2017.

"YES!" Rudo howls with barbaric delight, laughing insanely as he claps Willow on the shoulder in congratulation.

The last conscious bandit begins backing away, eyes glazed with terror, sword held out defensively. His eyes scan the surrounding area for any avenue of escape.

Suddenly Peas swoops back in, grasping at the man's hair from behind with sharp tiny talons that rip as she flies away. The yank of her escape pulls the bandit slightly off-balance.

OOC: Flying to the last bandit, performing the Help action, then flying away.
The Help action (PHB p.192) is targeted at assisting Zhaquadan's next attack.

Zhaquadan swings wildly at the fleeing bandit.

OOC: melee attack with 1H warhammer.
08:28, Today: Zhaquadan Mudsmither rolled 16 using 1d20+4 with rolls of 12.  1H warhammer attack.
08:32, Today: Zhaquadan Mudsmither rolled 3 using 1d8+2 with rolls of 1.  1H warhammer damage (bludgeoning).

With his target left slightly unbalanced by Peas' distraction, Zhaquadan finds an opening and clouts the bandit firmly in the chest with his warhammer. The bandit attempts to twist away but succeeds only partially. The massive hammer head drives into his jerkin with a dull smack, expelling a sharp wheeze as the wind is knocked out of him. He staggers backward, clutching his chest and crouching slightly to stay on his feet.

Steamknuckle acts decisively this time around, extending his hand to shoot a ray of freezing energy at the remaining bandit. The beam strikes the bandit just below the knee. He curses and limps back a bit, clutching at the crackling patch of frost spreading down his shin.

OOC: Ranged attack with Ray of Frost cantrip.
10:32, Today: Steamknuckle rolled 15 using 1d20+5 with rolls of 10.  Ray of Frost cantrip attack.
10:32, Today: Steamknuckle rolled 2 using 1d8 with rolls of 2.  Ray of Frost cantrip damage (cold).
This message was last edited by the player at 19:03, Wed 21 June 2017.

Rudo grins violently as he rushes the bandit, swinging his axe. The bandit raises his shortsword in a desperate attempt to parry, but his balance is off and the force of Rudo's blow overwhelms him. The axe catches him in the upper bicep with a meaty thunk.

The bandit screams as blood begins to pour from his wounded arm, but the cut is not deep enough to do any grave damage. He manages to wrench his arm free and starts backing away in panic.

OOC: Melee attack with greataxe.
10:41, Today: Rudo rolled 14 using 1d20+5 with rolls of 9.  Greataxe attack.
10:42, Today: Rudo rolled 5 using 1d12+3 with rolls of 2.  Greataxe damage (slashing).

Seeing the tide turned completely against him, the bandit retreats swiftly. His eyes dart back and forth among the party members like a crazed animal as he skirts the edge of the house behind him. When the wall at his back gives way to open air, he turns and breaks for the road, running east toward the the hill with the manor house.

OOC: Using the Disengage action to escape without provoking attacks of opportunity.

Sildar gives chase, running along the edge of the road to cut off the bandit's escape. The bandit hobbles as fast as he can, but still hampered by Steamknuckle's freezing blast to his leg, he is no match for the sprightly old man. Sildar throws two mighty swings of his mace as the bandit limps past.

In his desperation, the bandit manages to duck beneath the first errant blow. He pushes onward frantically. But just as he moves past Sildar, the old man catches him with a backswing in the back of the head. A ringing crack sends the bandit toppling to the ground, motionless.

OOC: Melee attack with mace.
11:06, Today: Sildar rolled 9 using 1d20+3 with rolls of 6.  Mace attack.
11:06, Today: Sildar rolled 17 using 1d20+3 with rolls of 14.  Mace attack.
11:07, Today: Sildar rolled 6 using 1d6+1 with rolls of 5.  Mace damage (bludgeoning).

Rudo rushes forward to finish off the unconscious bandit, axe raised above his head in a murderous frenzy.

Sildar steps in front of Rudo. "Stop! Calm yourself, dwarf! This man is still alive, and I mean to take him as my prisoner. He will not be harmed!"

Sildar turns to Zhaquadan. "You. Healer. Can you stabilize this man, so we can bind and properly arrest him before he dies?"

By now a small crowd of onlookers stands clustered in the open doorway of the inn across the street. Sildar turns to them. "Stonehill!" he shouts. The innkeeper squeezes out from the midst of the throng, nodding eagerly. "Go and fetch some rope," Sildar says. "These criminals must be bound and imprisoned, to answer for their crimes in accordance with Neverwinter law." Stonehill nods again and then rushes back inside the inn.

Zhaquadan inspects each party member for serious wounds and tends to them as best as he can without calling on the aid of Istishia.  As he looks Willow over he says "Thank you for your sacrifices this far.  I suggest that we rest for a short while before continuing."

As he watches Zhaquadan tend first to the party members, Sildar quickly grows impatient. "Perhaps you didn't hear me, Zhaquadan. While I value the lives of our friends here just as much as you do, they're all still up and walking.

"This Redbrand here, on the other hand...see, the one lying face down in the dirt with a bloody mace wound in the back of his head? He may die if you don't tend to him quickly. So please..." he takes a deep breath to calm his nerves. "Please, tend to this one first. Stabilize him so he doesn't die before I can sentence him to death."

Seeing the dire state of the bandit Zhaquadan quickly moves to him and lays his hands on him and prays to stabilize him.

OOC: Cast Spare the dying.